Crim e Prevention Through Environm ental Design in

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byRandall I. Atlas Ph.D. , AIA, ,CPP

Atlas Safety & Security Design Inc.Miami, Florida

Crime Prevention ThroughEnvironmental Design

in Designing Safe Paths, Trails, and Greenways

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Goals

• Increased demand for pedestrianand bicycle facilities• Increased demand for parks,

open spaces, and greenways• Encouraging pedestrian, bike and

mass transportation• Encouraging preservation of

neighborhoods, cultural, historicand natural resources• Enhancing the visual quality

Atlas Safety & Security Design inc. Miami

Destinations• Research has indicated that in

Greenways 2-10 miles long, users onaverage prefer 3.5 destinations pertrail.• Destinations should have features

and activities• Destinations should be named• Destinations should be merged with

adjacent resources• Destinations can be plazas, amenities

like bike racks, fountains.



Destinations

• Parking lots are frequently the firstdestination encountered.• Parking lots or trail heads are the 1st

opportunity to socialize users.• Parking lots used as trail destinations

are social and gathering settings, andneed CPTED features such as lighting,visible emergency phones, good sightlines, etc.


Destinations

• Trailheads are the main hotspots associated with Greenwaysand require extensive CPTED.• The combination of unattended

vehicles, joggers leaving behindvaluables while running, lack ofnatural surveillance, low levels ofactivity, make trailheads veryappealing to criminals.

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Fear of Crime


Consequences

• Attractive nuisances• Attractive magnets of illegal

behavior• Men behaving badly behavior• Premises Security Negligence

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Designing Safe Trails and Greenways

• Crime Prevention ThruEnvironmental Design• Creative Design solutions that may

be implemented to increase publicsafety along paths and trails.• These design techniques include

creating high visibility spaces thatclearly define the private andpublic realm.• Based upon 6 design strategies

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CPTED for Safe Trails and Greenways

• Design Strategies• Natural Surveillance• Natural Access Control• Territoriality Boundary Definition•Management and maintenance• Legitimate Activity Support


Natural Surveillance

• Keeping the environmentmaintained so that people can beeasily seen by other users, staff,and anyone who may pass thepark, trail or playground.

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Natural Access Control

• It is desired to have ingress andegress controlled by somemeans, naturally mechanicallyor organized. A hedge or pathwill direct people on legitimatepaths of travel. Signage directingpeople where to walk and not.

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Define, Direct and Limit Access

Internal routes and pathways


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Territoriality and boundary definition

• Territorial reinforcement is used todistinguish public from privatespaces. This can be accomplished bynatural or mechanical methods thatinclude signage, flower beds, hedges,fencing.• The idea is to show that someone

owns and cares about this space.• Use it or lose it to illegal and

unwanted activities.



Management and maintenance

• Parks and Greenways shouldonly build what they canmaintain.• Without maintenance, a public

area is inviting criminal behavior.


Maintenance• Free of litter• Trim

vegetation• maintain a 5’

clearanceunder canopytrees

• trim bushes upor down to 3’

• Goodcondition• Quickly repair

or replace.22


Legitimate activity support• It is important to get a variety of

groups in the community to takeownership of the greenway.• Groups could include joggers, bird

clubs, garden clubs, cyclists.• With Multiple groups there is a risk

of conflicts of uses and users.• Bird club may want dense or wild

vegetation; cyclists want clear line ofvision for obstacles and pedestrianson the Greenway. Both must haveADA acceptance and compliance.


Design for accessibility

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Skateboarding



• Who are users and uses• Legitimate• Illegitimate• Observers• Capable Guardians

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Separate and Define Use


Buffer Disruptive Elements

• Environmentalelements:• Heat/Cold• Glare• Wind• Noise

• Reduces stressand increasescomfort

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Landscaping Objectives

1. Define, direct and limit access2. Separate and define space3. Buffer disruptive elements4. Calm Behaviors


Selection and Planting

• Avoid•conflicts with lighting•access to the roof•creating hiding places


Selection

• Appropriate• Low

maintenance• Favor native

plants


Lighting Safe Trails and Greenways

• Lighting• Paths• Trails• Facial recognition• Perceptions of safety

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CPTED Lighting

• Enhance lighting to improvenatural surveillance and makelegitimate users feel safe.• The more people on the path the

safer it becomes.• Place lighting where it is needed,

avoid light pollution.




• Signage and Wayfinding• Paths• Trails• Recognition• Sense of direction• Destination

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• Recommendations• Risk Assessments• CPTED reviews• Police monitor crime stats• Look for changing patterns

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Implementation

• Include CPTED as animportant criteria inGreenway Guidelines• CPTED policies may

guide the location,siting, and design anddevelopment.• For more info contact

Randy Atlas PhD AIA@ 305-756-5027

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Documents

Crim e Prevention Through Environm ental Design in