This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Brunson, L. Articles by Sullivan, W. C. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Resident Appropriation of Defensible Space in Public Housing

Implications for Safety and Community

Cogem Research in Montreal, Canada

Frances E. Kuo

University of Illinois in the departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and Psychology

William C. Sullivan

University of Illinois in the departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and Landscape Architecture

Defensible space (DS) theory proposes that the built environment can promote neighborhood safety and community by encouraging residents’ appropriation of near-home space. This article examined the relationship between three different forms of resident appropriation and residents’ experiences of neighborhood safety and community. Results from a survey of 91 public housing residents living in moderately defensible spaces suggested that residents who defended near-home space through territorial appropriation experienced the neighborhood as a safer, more cohesive community than did residents who did not appropriate space in this way. Residents who spent more time outside experienced the neighborhood as a safer place; however, casual social interaction in near-home space was not consistently related to outcomes. While no causal information is available from the correlational data presented here, this work takes an important step of providing empirical evidence of a systematic link between certain aspects of resident appropriation and positive outcomes. Implications for DS theory and for public housing policy are discussed.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. O'Brien Social housing and green space: a case study in Inner London Forestry, December 1, 2006; 79(5): 535 - 551. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]