Crime Can Be Cut by Better Environmental Design

U of Ideas in Science -- May 2000
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Contact: Jim Barlow, Life Sciences Editor, (217) 333-5802; [email protected]

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT
Crime can be cut by better environmental design, research suggests

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Criminologists and landscape architects will put their heads together over the newest discoveries in "Environment and Crime" during the annual meeting of the Environmental Design Research Association May 10-14 in San Francisco.

In a two-part symposium May 12 (Friday) organized by Frances E. Kuo, co-director of the Human-Environment Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, the researchers will talk about how the physical environment affects crime in cities.

"Crime is one of the most serious difficulties that society faces in urban areas," Kuo said. "The research in this area suggests that by designing buildings a little differently or by changing the way we manage vegetation and lighting in parks and housing units, we could have a real impact on the problem without spending a fortune."

The five-day EDRA conference will be at the Cathedral Hills Hotel. Kuo's two Friday sessions will run back-to-back from 8:30 a.m. to noon. At 1:30 p.m., participants will take a walking tour of two San Francisco parks. Organized by Sean Michael, a professor at Washington State University, the group "will see the parks through the eyes of criminals," Kuo said. Tour guides will be from the San Francisco police and parks and recreation departments.

During Kuo's sessions, Michael will detail his work, which shows that criminals act rationally and select sites that minimize risk and heighten the rewards of their crimes. His findings suggest that park managers, environmental designers and law enforcement could benefit by working together.

Other speakers:

o William C. Sullivan, co-director of the UI Human-Environment Research Laboratory and Kuo, who will summarize their findings that trees and grass may reduce both the fear and incidence of crime in inner city neighborhoods in Chicago.

o Patricia and Paul Brantingham, criminologists at Canada's Simon Fraser University, whose research addresses the clustering of crimes in particular places and their relationship to the physical environment. They will discuss their theoretical approaches and implications for public policy.

o Ralph B. Taylor, a criminologist at Temple University in Philadelphia, who has extensively studied criminal activity and physical deterioration in several inner city neighborhoods in Baltimore.

The "Environment and Crime" sessions, Kuo said, will highlight "some of the most exciting, new theoretical and empirical advances" and identify opportunities for new research and public policies. "But the big question," she said, "is how can we take advantage of this growing body of knowledge to help create safer places to live, work and play."

-jb-