Environment and Behavior · 1992 · 466 citations · 14 references
Social SciencesPsychologySocial PsychologyCrimeEnvironmental PsychologyRisk PerceptionCampus SafetyCrime PreventionFear BehaviorFear Of CrimePsychological SafetyCrime EnvironmentCrime Opportunity StructurePlace-based Crime PreventionPlace-based Fear Of CrimeProspect-refuge TheorySituational Fear Of CrimeVulnerability To Crime
The study investigates how exterior campus site features—specifically prospect, refuge, and escape—affect fear of crime by testing a theoretical model linking offender refuge and victim escape to perceived safety. Three empirical studies observed behavior, collected responses to site plans, and measured on‑site safety perceptions across campus areas differing in prospect, refuge, and escape. Results show that fear of crime peaks in areas offering offender refuge and limiting victim prospect and escape, and that altering these features can reduce fear and crime opportunities.
This article examines fear of crime in relation to exterior site features on a college campus. The authors propose and test a theoretical model that posits that places that afford offenders refuge, and victims limited prospect and escape, will be seen as unsafe. In three studies, the authors observed behavior, obtained responses to site plans and on-site responses to perceptions of safety in relation to exterior campus areas that varied in prospect, refuge, and escape. The findings confirmed that fear of crime was highest in areas with refuge for potential offenders and low prospect and escape for potential victims. In places such as campuses, which have pronounced fear of crime, designs that manipulate prospect, refuge, and escape could reduce the fear of crime, as well as opportunities for crime.
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The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Arthur T. Row, Jane M. Jacobs · The Yale Law Journal · 1962 · 9.2K citations
Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order.
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