U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Public Housing: A Primer for Creating Safe Neighborhoods

NCJ Number
182436
Author(s)
Severin L. Sorensen; Ellen M. Walsh
Date Published
October 1998
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This booklet discusses crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) in public housing.
Abstract
The basic premise of CPTED in the context of public housing is that the nature of the buildings and lay-out of a community can attract offenders and make it easier for them to commit crimes and escape arrest. CPTED focuses on eliminating these features at the design stage, or modifying them on existing estates, to reduce crime and the fear of crime. It promises not only to reduce crime, but also to enhance the aesthetic appearance of a community through crime-free designs and to improve the residents’ quality of life. Additionally, CPTED draws on theories of crime, which focus on specific environmental factors that enable a criminal event to occur. The booklet discusses the history and basics of CPTED; community implementation of CPTED; assessments; community collaboration; measuring the impact of CPTED; and CPTED resources (including key publications, how to get a technical assistance grant, CPTED trainers and conferences and Internet resources). Notes, table, references