Relevant Resources
Fennelly, Lawrence, and Timothy Crowe. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. Burlington: Elsevier Science, 2013. Internet resource.
The central argument of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is that strategic changes to the physical environment can dramatically decrease crime and increase the safety of a community. Rather than focusing attention on the offender, CPTED focuses attention on human activity and limiting its exposure to criminal activities (15). It focuses on increasing natural access to and surveillance of community spaces through means such as architectural design, improved lighting, and pedestrian traffic. By considering carefully the purpose of any given space, designers can reduce the crime that occurs in that space.
Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities, 1961. Print.
Jacobs critiques urban planning and suggests it is responsible for the decay of urban neighborhoods in the 1950s. She then offers strategies that can bring about urban renewal. Those strategies include increasing density and foot traffic through planning that values street-level retail and mixed-use residential and commercial neighborhood design; ensuring that neighborhoods have reasons to be visited at all times of day and into the evening; and maximizing pedestrian permeability in urban spaces. Her strategies are based on how cities actually work rather than how they “should” work according to urban planning ideals.
Menton, Chris. "Bicycle Patrols: an Underutilized Resource." Policing: an International Journal of Police Strategies & Management 31.1 (2008): 93-108. Print.
Based on observations of police patrols in Boston, Charlotte, Providence, Hartford, and Washington, this study argues that bicycle patrols are at least as effective as auto patrols in dealing with serious and non-serious crimes. At times, bicycle patrols have a distinct advantage over auto patrols because their amount of contact with people is far higher. In addition, the use of bicycles gives officers many tactical advantages, including increased “stealth” (102) and “enhanced access” to difficult-to-reach locations (103).
Rosenfeld, Richard. Economics and Youth Violence: Crime, Disadvantage, and Community. New York: NYU Press, 2013. Internet resource.
Through multiple essays, this collection explores the relationships between economic conditions and youth violence. It reports, not surprisingly, that economic adversity results in increased burglary, robbery, and theft (7). One study shows that the relationship between youth violence and economic disadvantage is non-linear, with youth violence occurring most frequently in disadvantaged neighborhoods but falling slightly in the most disadvantaged communities (9). Another study details the ways that economic stressors prevent families from being able to provide a nurturing environment, resulting in youth problems (10-11). The final chapter of the book argues that addressing youth violence must begin by targeting economic factors (11).
Tolley, R S. The Greening of Urban Transport: Planning for Walking and Cycling in Western Cities. London: Belhaven Press, 1990. Print.
This collection of essays includes multiple examples of the successful integration of pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly means of transportation in urban centers. Drawing primarily on studies in western Europe, it provides suggestions for managing the environmental aspects of integrated transportation options and increasing the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. It makes an economic case for green modes of transportation, offers comparative analysis of green transportation in different countries and contexts, and closes with suggestions for policy.
The central argument of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is that strategic changes to the physical environment can dramatically decrease crime and increase the safety of a community. Rather than focusing attention on the offender, CPTED focuses attention on human activity and limiting its exposure to criminal activities (15). It focuses on increasing natural access to and surveillance of community spaces through means such as architectural design, improved lighting, and pedestrian traffic. By considering carefully the purpose of any given space, designers can reduce the crime that occurs in that space.
Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities, 1961. Print.
Jacobs critiques urban planning and suggests it is responsible for the decay of urban neighborhoods in the 1950s. She then offers strategies that can bring about urban renewal. Those strategies include increasing density and foot traffic through planning that values street-level retail and mixed-use residential and commercial neighborhood design; ensuring that neighborhoods have reasons to be visited at all times of day and into the evening; and maximizing pedestrian permeability in urban spaces. Her strategies are based on how cities actually work rather than how they “should” work according to urban planning ideals.
Menton, Chris. "Bicycle Patrols: an Underutilized Resource." Policing: an International Journal of Police Strategies & Management 31.1 (2008): 93-108. Print.
Based on observations of police patrols in Boston, Charlotte, Providence, Hartford, and Washington, this study argues that bicycle patrols are at least as effective as auto patrols in dealing with serious and non-serious crimes. At times, bicycle patrols have a distinct advantage over auto patrols because their amount of contact with people is far higher. In addition, the use of bicycles gives officers many tactical advantages, including increased “stealth” (102) and “enhanced access” to difficult-to-reach locations (103).
Rosenfeld, Richard. Economics and Youth Violence: Crime, Disadvantage, and Community. New York: NYU Press, 2013. Internet resource.
Through multiple essays, this collection explores the relationships between economic conditions and youth violence. It reports, not surprisingly, that economic adversity results in increased burglary, robbery, and theft (7). One study shows that the relationship between youth violence and economic disadvantage is non-linear, with youth violence occurring most frequently in disadvantaged neighborhoods but falling slightly in the most disadvantaged communities (9). Another study details the ways that economic stressors prevent families from being able to provide a nurturing environment, resulting in youth problems (10-11). The final chapter of the book argues that addressing youth violence must begin by targeting economic factors (11).
Tolley, R S. The Greening of Urban Transport: Planning for Walking and Cycling in Western Cities. London: Belhaven Press, 1990. Print.
This collection of essays includes multiple examples of the successful integration of pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly means of transportation in urban centers. Drawing primarily on studies in western Europe, it provides suggestions for managing the environmental aspects of integrated transportation options and increasing the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. It makes an economic case for green modes of transportation, offers comparative analysis of green transportation in different countries and contexts, and closes with suggestions for policy.