Built environment for community safety

Findings specific to the planning field

• Two related concepts dominate the planning field as it relates to crime prevention— the Broken Windows Theory and Eyes on the Street

• Most land use and transportation planners and architects do not fully understand their roles in preventing violence

• Land use as a means to prevent violence is understudied and unde

“The idea is to create land use that reduces opportunities for negative things to occur, increases opportunities for positive things to occur— social capital, busy streets with businesses and vitality, employment and economic development,” said Marc Zimmerman of the University of Michigan. “All these positive things replace the negative things that

Neighborhood characteristics such as high alcohol outlet density and community deterioration, for example, make violence more likely, while factors such as community connectedness and meaningful opportunities for civic and social participation reduce its likelihood. Many of these factors are shaped by how land is used, by whom and for what purposes

Decisions about how land is used, by whom, and for what purposes hold immense potential to prevent violence. Yet, despite the connection between land use and community safety, land use decisions are rarely made with violence prevention in mind.

Community Safety by Design: Preventing Violence through Land Use

Changing the environment through initiatives that enhance public spaces, such as installing streetlights, fixing broken sidewalks, cleaning up vacant lots or opening community gardens help promote public safety. These are examples of built environment changes that help improve factors that contribute to violence and methods for primary prevention,

Planning agencies should work with other city agencies to ensure that occupied residential blocks with vacant and abandoned houses have a remediation plan in place that includes low-cost treatments, such as the replacement of windows and doors in need of repair, façade cleaning, and regular trash removal.

John MacDonald on Addressing Abandoned Housi