VARIATIONS ON DEFENSIBLE SPACE

In the 1970s, Oscar Newman led a study out of Washington University regarding issues of territoriality in the spaces near and between buildings. His thesis was that the way that buildings were arranged can and did physiologically affect their inhabitants as well as those who were passers by. The results of these studies resulted in the landmark book, Defensible Space. The study and book launched a movement that offered the idea that appropriate design could be a deterrent to crime and a basis for building a healthy community.