In Defence of Walkability as a Crime Prevention Strategy

ABSTRACT

New Urbanist ideas promoting walkability have many benefits. But they are criticised by proponents of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), who blame street connectivity for facilitating target recognition, providing access and escape routes and weakening informal surveillance. In this article, we challenge the consensus portraying walkable neighbourhoods as criminogenic by highlighting two issues overlooked by CPTED and environmental criminology. First, the focus on crime counts which confounds crime risk with the number of human interactions in the physical world. Second, the neglect of how walkable neighbourhoods reduce crime beyond their borders, something that becomes clear once motoring offences are brought within the analytic frame. By indirectly promoting car dependency crime prevention programmes such as Secured by Design inadvertently promote criminal harm. Finally, we explore the intersections between CPTED and walkability and suggest that neighbourhoods can become more vibrant, sustainable and safe by reducing road—not street—connectivity.