Crime prevention in urban spaces through environmental design: a critical UK perspective

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) and the Defensible Space Theory have been adopted to enable the effective use of the built environment to reduce crime. The occurrence of crime is widely accepted to be context-specific. Some explanatory theories have focused on social disorder, alluding to the notion that if such disorders are eliminated from society then serious crime would be eradicated. Numerous approaches have considered the use of environmental design and spatial configuration as a possible solution to reduce crime. The main aim of this study is to gain further understanding of stakeholders’ perceptions of Brixton Town Centre (BTC) in London and thus advance the discourse of CPTED. Using a mixed methodology approach, a visual audit of CPTED, a critical analysis of police crime data, questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews were carried out to gauge the effectiveness of key CPTED intervention principles identified in BTC. It was revealed that since the interventionary measures began in BTC in 2011, there has been an increase in the crime rates for other parts of England and Wales whilst BTC in particular has experienced a decline. A positive correlation was found between length of residency in the area and fear of crime. Lighting was critical to people’s perception of feeling secure. Finally, the research findings revealed that although crime rates had fallen in BTC, stakeholders agree that further improvement was required. This research concludes with a proposal of further study that will theorize the phenomenon occurring at BTC