A recent West German study of crime rates in high rise residential complexes concluded that the purported correlation between multistoried residential developments with poorly defensible space and increased crime incidence does not exist. Furthermore, classical studies in criminal geography have associated high crime concentration with older, decaying inner city business areas rather than with the new high rise residential districts usually located at the city peripheries. It appears that the crime-proneness attributed to the multistory residential complexes is more a matter of resident negative perceptions of their setting and their inability to feel at ease in it. The buildings are poorly designed for accommodating children and juveniles, who are therefore perceived by adult residents as an irritant and a threat by their very presence. Residents fear vandalism and distrust neighbors, since everyone is new in the development and the impersonality of the high rise structures does not encourage familiarity and interaction. A spontaneous sense of community does not exist; the high rise setting has lost the informal social controls and seeks the services of formal control mechanisms (e.g., the police) to fill the void. A total of 47 footnotes are given.