defensible space

Defensible space is a concept first proposed by the architect Oscar Newman and developed further by Alice Coleman. It is the idea that crime and delinquency can be controlled and mitigated through environmental design. The idea is important because it relates an individual's environment to his or her expectation of crime in the community.

There are four factors that make a defensible space:

• Territoriality, or the idea that one's home is sacred
• Natural surveillance, or the link between an area's physical characteristics and the residents' ability to see what is happening
• Image, or the capacity of the physical design to impart a sense of security
• Milieu, or other features that may affect security, such as proximity to a police substation or busy commercial area

The term Defensible space is also used in the context of wildfires, especially in the wildland/urban interface. In this context, defensible space is the area around a structure that has been landscaped to reduce fire danger. This space reduces the risk that fire will spread to the structure, and also provides firefighters a relatively safe area in which to work while protecting the structure. In areas prone to wildfires, firefighters will often not attempt to protect structures that do not have adequate defensible space, both for safetey reasons and because such efforts are unlikely to be successful.

Most agencies recommend that the defensible space around a structure extend for at least 100 feet (30 meters) in all directions. This area need not be devoid of vegetation, but plants should be selected, trimmed, spaced and irrigated in such a way to minimize the fuel available to the fire and hamper the spread of the fire.

See also

• City Beautiful movement
• CPTED
• Fixing Broken Windows

External links

• Creating Defensible Space
• Essay on Alice Coleman

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