Creating Safer, More Livable Communities Through Planning and Design	.
Al Zelinka, AICP, Dean Brennan, AICP, and Margot Fehrenbacher, AIA	Author Info

Abstract

Since crime is often a leading community concern, a unified and comprehensive effort is the best approach to eliminating conditions that contribute to crime and the fear of crime. Planners and designers play a central role in crime reduction and prevention: they are responsible for many of the land use and design policies, processes, and decisions that determine how well and to what extent an environment will serve legitimate users. Municipalities throughout the country are recognizing the potential benefits of supporting programs which focus on the physical environment and crime. As a result, many planners and designers are entering a new realm of their ultimate responsibility: to protect the public general health, safety, and welfare.

Introduction

Protecting oneself from danger is a basic human instinct that can result in unlimited manifestations. Today's society is so preoccupied - almost obsessed! - with safety (and how to deal with crime so as to not become a victim) that we are on a seemingly limitless quest for the ultimate crime prevention solution. This quest is fueled by the what we constantly see and hear about crime on TV, the radio, the newspaper and, yes, the Internet. We are deluged in the press with "hard" news about crime! And, finally, we are flooded with marketing of high-tech products and services that assure us from becoming victims of crime.

It seems that some of the extreme lengths we are pursuing in the name of safety can be achieved through other, simpler, means. Isn't it true that the physical environment could be held accountable for some of the crimes and undesirable activities occurring in our neighborhoods, parks, shopping centers, and workplaces? Could a crime have been prevented if only more lighting was providing in a parking lot? To both questions, "quite possibly" is a reasonable response. Yet very little has been reported, not to mention documented in an applied format, as far as what can be done - and is being done - to address safety and crime issues through changes to the physical environment in which we live, work, shop, and spend our leisure time.

Starting more than 30 years ago with Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Dr. C. Ray Jeffrey's Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and Oscar Newman's Defensible Space in the early 70's, and emphasized by the crime prevention practitioners of today, design professionals have been told that modification of the physical environment could have an impact on crime by eliminating opportunities for crimes to be committed. But most design professionals have not been listening because they either don't understand how to properly incorporate crime prevention into land use and design plans or don't believe dealing with safety and crime is part of their professional "responsibility". All too often the response to security and safety concerns is the erection of barriers - the creation of gated communities, for instance.

The National Crime Prevention Council defines crime prevention as "the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of action to remove or reduce it." To contribute to this end, planners and designers must understand where they can have an impact. Criminologists have long known that three elements must be present for a crime to occur: desire, ability, and opportunity. A criminal must have both a desire and the ability to carry out a crime; and, favorable opportunities must be present to facilitate the criminal's desire and ability. Planners and designers have a direct role in affecting one integral part of this crime triangle. They have the know-how and influence to alter the physical environment in ways that reduce or prevent opportunities for crime to occur.

Design Guidelines and Development Standards in Crime Prevention

Increasingly, planners and architects are teaming with law enforcement personnel, citizens, and other professionals to address the relationship between the physical environment and crime. These partnerships are having profound impacts on neighborhoods, commercial areas, parks, and other public spaces, and are often the impetus of new comprehensive crime prevention strategies that seek to enhance the livability in communities. In many cities, design guidelines and development standards are among the first set of tools created by these partnerships to further crime prevention.

Recently, the U.S. Conference of Mayors completed a survey of all U.S. cities with populations greater than 30,000 - totaling 1,060 cities - to identify efforts to curb crime through physical design. Approximately 325 surveys were returned, of which 80 cities either describe their crime prevention through design programs as "mature, with room for growth" or "well-established". As is evident from the initial findings of the survey, cities are actively incorporating planning and design policy (i.e. design guidelines and development regulations) into their crime prevention programs.

Planners and designers serve important roles in stewarding the development and implementation of these tools. Not only are they responsible for the technical aspects of design guidelines and development standards, but also the consensus-based process that is fundamental to implementing (and interpreting) the intent of crime prevention policies in a reasonable and appropriate manner. All too often, unfortunately, design guidelines and development standards are applied as though they are gospel; as we know too well, rigid mandates are rejected more often than more flexible approaches. In terms of preventing crime through physical design, guidelines and standards must be fluid enough to allow for adaptation and modification to specific problems and conditions. What works in one situation may not work in another.

Tailoring design responses to crime for each situation is key to successful crime prevention. Several planning departments have recognized this and have been effective in developing comprehensive and balanced planning- and design-based crime prevention measures in communities across the country. The cities of Phoenix and St. Paul, for example, are amongst the leaders incorporating crime prevention into design and planning; planners and designers are actively working to strike balances between the need for crime prevention and the ongoing pursuit of creating more attractive and livable communities.

City of Phoenix Safe Communities Program

One major dynamic in the Phoenix metropolitan region is a public perception that areas in the central city are generally unsafe and that residents and visitors in these central places are more likely to become victims of criminal activity. In March 1995, the City of Phoenix Planning Department published a report entitled Urban Infill Strategies, Phase I: Opportunities, Barriers, Process which indicates that crime and the perception of crime form the number one barrier to infill development in the central city.

Working with the City's twelve Village Planning Committees - advisory bodies to the Planning Commission and City Council, each representing a different geographical area ("Urban Village") within Phoenix - the Phoenix Planning Department began developing the Safe Communities Program in October 1995 to provide the Village Planning Committees with the tools to address the community safety and crime prevention issues unique to their areas. The program strives to reduce inter-departmental program and policy overlap, emphasizing the relationship between the physical environment and crime, and expanding public education as a means of both reinvigorating central city neighborhoods, commercial areas and public spaces, and improving community safety.

The Safe Communities Program has three major components that provide focus for all related crime prevention planning efforts:

1. Standards Assessment and Modifications - Review of design standards and General Plan provisions for consistency with crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles. Collaborative modification of existing development standards, the preparation of new standards, and amendments, if necessary, to the General Plan or Zoning Ordinance. Key to this objective is CPTED training of City law enforcement personnel, and planning, building, and design review staff.

2. Inter-Departmental and Inter-Agency Coordination - Identification of City departments and other agencies with established programs related to crime prevention. Contacts from each entity serve as resources to Village Planning Committees and neighborhoods.

3. Public Awareness and Community Education - Utilization of community education and involvement as a common thread linking all elements of the Safe Communities program.
   1. Village Outreach and Collaboration - Includes the development of a community-based Safe Communities network, the coordination of a Safe Communities Symposium and the preparation of pilot-neighborhood plans.

   2. Safe Communities Resource Guide - A user-friendly guidebook of crime prevention planning tools (e.g. existing programs, design guidelines, case studies, contacts, funding sources, etc.), specific to Phoenix, that addresses neighborhood crime and safety issues.

   3. Safe Communities Symposium - A symposium that brings together members of the community, city departments, and public officials to gain an understanding of the safety issues facing the Villages and their neighborhoods and to learn of solutions to these issues. This effort furthers the development of a coordination network and heightened community awareness and involvement in fighting crime.

Since the initiation of the Safe Communities Program the following activities have been implemented.

1. Standards Assessment & Modifications - A CPTED task force was established comprised of representatives of the various city departments that have ordinances, policies, and/or guidelines that deal with the physical environment. This task force is charged with the responsibility of reviewing all applicable codes that influence the physical environment, whether it be new development or existing development.
   The task force has focused on updating the Design Review Guidelines which are used for the purpose of reviewing site plans for new development. These guidelines have the most immediate impact on the physical environment created as a result of new development. Because of the level of development activity in Phoenix, the Design Review Guidelines were the priority for modification based on CPTED principles.
   The task force coordinated their work with a citizen committee established to provide feedback and input regarding proposed changes. The citizen committee was representative of a cross section of the community and brought a variety of perspectives that ensured a citizen voice as the amendment process moved forward. The citizen committee also assisted with the community outreach and education regarding the important role that the Safe Communities Program could play in addressing the issues of safety and crime.

2. Inter-Departmental and Inter-Agency Coordination - Throughout implementation of the Safe Communities Program, the Phoenix Planning Department has depended on other departments to play key roles. These roles have varied from assisting with the identification of safety issues to the identification of the programs and/or resources that may be available to address the safety issues identified. This working relationship has been particularly important with the Phoenix Police Department and the Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department.

3. Public Awareness and Community Education
   1. Village Outreach and Collaboration - In early 1997, Planning Department staff began attending the monthly meetings of the village planning committees to request their assistance with implementation of the Safe Communities Program. Each village committee was requested to participate in community outreach by assisting neighborhood associations with neighborhood safety audits. The committees were also requested to raise safety issues during the discussion of rezoning cases so that developers would be aware of the need to consider CPTED principles during the design process.
   2. Safe Communities Resource Guide - The Safe Communities Resource Guide includes a listing of programs and resources that are available from eight city departments. The programs and resources identified specifically address safety and crime issues. The Resource Guide has been made available to village planning committee members and representatives of neighborhood associations and is used as a reference by these groups when a safety issue is identified. The Resource guide was initially distributed to the community at the Safe Communities Symposium held in May, 1997. It will be updated on an annual basis as programs and resources change.

   3. Safe Communities Symposium - In May, 1997, the first Safe Communities Symposium was conducted and served as the formal kick-off for the Safe Communities Program. The Symposium brought together representatives from the village planning committees and from neighborhood associations. The Symposium included local speakers who focused on how CPTED principles are being used to address safety issues in both new and existing development. The keynote speaker was Randy Atlas, Atlas Safety and Design, Inc., who presented examples of how neighborhood groups can deal with safety issues.
      The Symposium served as the opportunity to introduce the CPTED principles to the public and provide them with examples of how those principles can be used to address safety issues in the physical environment. It also served as the first major outreach effort for the Safe Communities Program and was subsequently followed by other outreach efforts including a series of brochures about safety issues, a quarterly newsletter, and a number of neighborhood safety audits.

Design for Public Safety Saint Paul

In the City of Saint Paul, the Planning and Economic Development Department (PED) implements crime prevention measures through an effort, entitled Design for Public Safety Saint Paul. In 1992, Saint Paul had established two of three elements that are important for deterring crime: 1) community involvement through active neighborhood block clubs and community empowerment, and 2) enforcement and problem-oriented policing to target criminal behavior. The third element, which was being discovered to have an influence on crime, was design.

International and national research suggested that design could influence crime and the perception of safety - that people COULD identify which places in their neighborhoods or cities felt safe or unsafe. Even though Saint Paul had preserved a lower crime rate than most cities of its size, Saint Paul wanted to retain its perception that it was a livable city, where people could be safe in their homes or out in the community. As a result, the Design for Public Safety resolution was passed by the City Council in 1992. It gave authority to develop design standards and procedures that would help reduce the opportunity for crime and enhance public safety throughout the city.

The first step was a research phase, undertaken by Saint Paul Planning and Economic Development with Mary Vogel, researcher/architect at the University of Minnesota, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Research from throughout the United States and other countries was compiled, substantiating that the design of the public realm could make communities more resistant to crime. Then design principles were developed that identified what those physical characteristics were. Next these principles were studied in-depth and tested in two Saint Paul neighborhoods, which were experiencing the effects of higher crime rates. The final product of this cutting-edge research was the publication, Design for Public Safety Saint Paul: A Guide for Making a Safer Public Realm. Because each design situation is unique and there are many issues to consider when making design decisions, it was not written as a set of hard and fast rules nor as a "cookbook" approach. Instead the intent was to provide a set of building principles that can be weighed, evaluated and applied in relationship to each other and to other design priorities when considering design decisions relative to a particular site. It is written in a straightforward, practical style and has proven to be a popular, educational tool that identifies, describes, and illustrates with over 100 photographs design principles for helping communities make informed design decisions about urban safety.

The second step was turning concepts into reality. PED, working with Saint Paul's Licensing, Inspection and Environmental Protection Department and Police Department, CPTED Unit, began reviewing development proposals; Design for Public Safety was added to the already-in-place Site Plan Review Process. More significantly, we recognized the importance of working with private architects, design and planning professionals, and their clients at a project's conceptual stage. The key was and continues to be early discussions, even at the site planning stage where many irreversible decisions are made - decisions that can either deter or support crime. We not only discussed Design for Public Safety/CPTED principles, but also demonstrated how these principles could be easily incorporated into specific designs. The positive impact of this approach - collaboration vs. regulation - cannot be overstated!

Since 1993, in large part due to the receptivity of Saint Paulites and our development, design, and planning community, all major developments - including the Minnesota Children's Museum, Midway Marketplace, the downtown MCTO bus shelters, the new Arlington High School, the downtown Civic Center renovation, the new Wabasha Bridge, and the new Interstate 94 downtown bridges - have been designed with public safety as a priority. Although building a city is often a decade-long process, the impact of careful design decisions that support a safe urban environment and reduce opportunities for crime is already being felt in Saint Paul.

Conclusion

We live in an era wherein we have the capabilities, unlike any other time before, to achieve meaningful human objectives and to improve upon those aspects of the urban landscape that cause concern. As humans, we respond - consciously or not - to environmental cues created by the built and natural environments. As planners and designers, we are responsible for the standards, policies, and guidelines that direct the way in which our environments are designed and built; the very same environments that affect the way we behave and feel. Since we are trained to integrate an array of considerations into our daily practice, we must strive to recognize our potential impact on creating safe places. Like transportation, economics and urban design, public safety and crime prevention should be considered in the development and implementation of general plan policy, design guidelines, development review, and zoning ordinance provisions.

So wrote Jane Jacobs in her 1961 work, and so it is today - some thirty-five years later - that we are beginning to incorporate her observations of creating safe places into the urban landscape.

Al Zelinka, AICP, author of the original City of Phoenix Safe Communities Work Program, is an Urban Planner with Urban Design Studio/Robert Bein William Frost & Associates in Irvine, CA. Al is co-authoring an APA-sponsored book with Dean Brennan on creating safer urban environments through design techniques and planning practices. He can be reached at (714) 472-3417 and azap@earthlink.net .

Dean Brennan, AICP, is a Planner with the City of Phoenix and Project Manager of the Safe Communities Program. He recently published an article in Planning with Al Zelinka entitled "Safe and Sound." Dean and Al welcome the submittal of case studies and other contributions for their upcoming book, to be completed in early 1999. Dean can be reached at (602) 262-4499 and dbrennan@ci.phoenix.az.us .

Margot Fehrenbacher, AIA, a registered architect with Saint Paul Planning and Economic Development, co-author of Design for Public Safety Saint Paul: A Guide to Making a Safer Public Realm, and has directed Saint Paul's program since 1992. Her work has been featured in local newspapers, national professional magazines, and on cable television. Contact Margot at (612) 266-6660 and margot.fehrenbacher@stpaul.gov .