writing on the wall

Writing on the Wall

• Council estate/housing project = public housing = social housing

• Do we blame people or look for inherent design faults, or do both?

• Difficulty of replicating Newman’s data with OHC data from Toronto—secrecy issues

Writing on the Wall

• What design faults contributed to the social problems discussed in the film?

• How many design faults might be corrected or eliminated in the design phase of housing?

• Can an architect operate effectively without a thorough understanding of human territoriality?

Maximizing Defensible Space

• Clear entrance areas—cars, bushes, etc., should not obstruct views into the entrance

• Provision of semi-public space• Visibility of entrance ways, stairwells, play

areas• Housing should blend in with existing

neighbourhood and not stigmatize residents• Play and seating areas adjacent to housing

Maximizing Defensible Space• Public areas maximizing tenant surveillance

of grounds distinguished from semi-public and private areas

• Smaller number of tenants in buildings, density does not have to change

• Avoid placing low income, single parent pathological families in high-rise buildings

• Display names on door (reduces deindividuation)

• Allowance for personalizing touches (plantings, door knockers, window boxes, tenant painted doors

Clason Point Modification Goals(p.16)

• Intensify tenant surveillance of the grounds• Reduce public space—create private & semi-

public areas• Intensify use of semi-public grounds in

socially beneficial ways, extend areas of perceived tenant responsibility

• Increase sense of propriety felt by residents• Reduce stigma of public housing, better blend

with the community• Reduce intergenerational conflict among

residents

Procedures Implemented in Clason Point

• Paths widened, decorative, coloured paving used.• Walls outside dwellings (created front lawns).• Public seating in centre of pathway.• Separation of age appropriate play areas,

provision of adult seating• Better and more decorative lighting of public areas• Fencing to distinguish backyards from public

paths.• Refacing of buildings

Clason Point Crime Statistics

• Overall crime rate dropped 54% in first year• Premodification monthly crime rate average =

6.91 crimes/1,000 residents• Postmodification monthly crime rate average

= 3.16 crimes/1,000 residents• Average monthly burglary rate/year dropped

from 5.15/1,000 residents to 3.71/1,000 residents (a 28% change)


• Average monthly robbery rate dropped from 1.95/1,000 residents to 0.

• Average monthly assault rate dropped from 0.53/1,000 residents to 0.31/1,000 residents (a 42% change)

• The number of felonies (indictable offences) during the evening and night decreased by more than half.


• For serious crime categories (burglary, robbery & assault), average crime rate was reduced by 61.5%

• The percentage of residents who felt they had the right to question strangers on project grounds increased from 27 to 50%

• (Source: Newman, O. (1996). Creating defensible space. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, pp.77-78).

Issues in Defensible Space Research

• Lack of definition of defensible space• Selectivity of buildings studied?• Data analysis errors• Was there an actual reduction in crime or was

it merely the displacement of crime to other locations?

• Architectural determinism rather than an examination of other possible factors

• Failure to consider social and economic factors in the commission of crimes

• Accessibility of housing data in other jurisdictions?

Issues in Defensible Space Research

• Buildings might have defensible space, but if tenants don’t communicate with each other, there is no gain in safety

• The bystander effect (diffusion of responsibility) states that when others are present, less help is forthcoming

writing on the wall

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