Is CPTED Useful to Guide the Inventory of Safety in Parks? A Study Case in Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

~SAGECrime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) has long been suggested as a guideline for improving safety in neighborhoods. Yet, little is known about the application of CPTED to urban parks. The aim of this study is to evaluate the adequacy of CPTED principles in guiding the inventory of safety conditions of an urban park. The study begins with a review of the development of CPTED ideas and then focuses on the inspection of a park with a relatively high level of crime in the city of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Site observations, parks inspection, crime mapping of policerecorded data, and interviews with selected users and municipal stakeholders underpin the methodology used in this study. Findings indicate that design and management of the park affect the park's safety conditions-attributes that are easily identifiable when using CPTED as guidance. The article concludes with several general lessons from using CPTED principles to inventory safety in parks.

Time-varying relationships between land use and crime: A spatio-temporal analysis of small-area seasonal property crime trends

“…In a spatio-temporal context, urban planners should consider how the physical characteristics and activity functions of land uses change over time. For example, urban planners and designers should ensure that foliage and event-related infrastructure in parks during the summer does not obscure the natural surveillance provided by vehicular traffic, passersby, and park users (Loukaitou-Sideris et al, 2001;Iqbal and Ceccato, 2016).…”

Fieldwork protocol as a safety inventory tool in public places

“…Situational crime theory focuses on opportunityreducing processes that are aimed at particular forms of crime; entail the management, creation or manipulation of the immediate environment in an organized and permanent manner as possible; and result in crime being more difficult and risky or less rewarding and justifiable (Clarke, 1997). In an environment, this can be done by stimulating surveillance, fostering territoriality, and reducing areas of conflict by controlling access and improving overall perceived safety (Armitage, 2013;Cozens et al, 2005;Ekblom, 2011Ekblom, , 2019Iqbal & Ceccato, 2016;Jeffery, 1977;Newman, 1972;Saville, 2013). These principles underlie what is called crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED).…”

“…According to Ceccato, Falk, Parsanezhad, and Tarandi (2018), most CPTED interventions have been implemented together with other situational crime prevention techniques (Clarke, 2012) with reference to housing developments and neighborhoods (e.g. Armitage, 2013;Ceccato & Bamzar, 2016;Clarke, 1983;DeKeseredy, Donnermeyer, & Schwartz, 2009), transportation systems (Ceccato & Paz, 2017;Loukaitou-Sideris, 2012), parks (Iqbal & Ceccato, 2016), and commercial properties and shopping centers (Ceccato & Tcacencu, 2018;Lindblom & Kajalo, 2011).…”

“…Previous research has shown that fieldwork protocols are able to capture what is most important in the environment to explain why crime (or fear) happens at that particular place and time Iqbal & Ceccato, 2016). What should one expect from a safety inventory tool such as an FP?…”

“…Finally, evidence from parks is based on two case studies, one from Stockholm, Sweden, and the other from Vilnius, Lithuania. For details about the parks, see Ceccato and Lukyte (2011) and Iqbal and Ceccato (2016). Figure 1 illustrates data collection process and the four steps taken to assess FPs as tools for inspecting the physical and social environment of three types of public place.…”