Crime PreventionThrough Environmental Design (CPTED) GuidelinesUrban Environments

Building Safe Environments Factsheet 1Design of NeighbourhoodsBurwood Council aims to actively work with community stakeholders to ensure a safer community through the practical application of CPTED principles within the development of neighbourhoods. This fact sheet is designed to assist community members with a guide showing how neighbourhoods can be designed, developed and managed in ways that promote social, environmental and economic sustainability through promotion of community ownership and neighbourhood security.

Who Goes There? (Access Control)• Include instructional / directional signage that is large, with strong colours and standard symbols placed at entrances,

activity spaces and intersections• Pathways and access routes should be lit in compliance with Australian

Standard of 1158 and should be consistent to reduce the amount of shadow within unilluminated areas

• Ensure facilities and buildings are secure at night through creating lockable infrastructure

• Ensure pathways and corridors are clearly designated, promoting legibility and way finding through clear directional signage

• Ensure the urban design utilises a clear street structure layout, highlighting buildings or environmental features as directional points

• Ensure entry and exit points (where appropriate) are clearly marked• Ensure restricted areas are clearly signed and locked / barricaded to ensure

legitimate access control

Sensible Spaces (Space/Activity Management)• Provide gathering places within the neighbourhood which are easily accessible, encouraging community interaction and

ownership (e.g. stopping, resting and looking)• Ensure that community spaces are bounded by least 50% of building space sides, by active street scapes or esplanade

edges to rivers, parks etc• Neighbourhoods should be designed with physical interaction as a priority, facilitating multiple space usage by

pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles both within the neighbourhood and connecting to adjacent neighbourhoods• Pedestrian underpasses and concealment points avoided in new developments• Public spaces should include activities that respond to different day, night, weekend and weekday uses through active

use at a variety of times (e.g. open air gym equipment)• Spaces should be designed to enhance their legibility including public artwork on walls, signage, benches and

community landmarks• Ensure walls with external frontages within the public domain are painted with dual action protective paint, for easy

removal of graffiti

Suite 1, Level 2, 1-17 Elsie Street, Burwood NSW 2134 PO Box 240, Burwood NSW 1805Telephone: 9911 9911 Fax: 9911 9900Website: www.burwood.nsw.gov.au

Sense of Ownership (Territorial Re-enforcement)• Movement predicators (e.g signs, information maps) should be used

ensuring clear sightlines and good lighting. Emergency intercoms, telephones and Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) should be included in the design of movement predictors

• Integrate neighbourhood developments with institutions (e.g. churches, retirement homes etc) and businesses, to facilitate active pedestrian movement within spaces at various times

• Utilise landscape and architectural design approaches that enforce territory and legibility of space (e.g. knee level hedging marking footpath usage)

• Medium height vegetation with foliage density concentrated at the top should be avoided. Low hedges, shrubs, ground covers and high canopied vegetation provides surveillance opportunities and can be used to identify and define different spaces

• Avoid vegetation that conceals building and amenity entrances or obstructs the effectiveness of public and private lighting

• Limit continuous vegetation barriers that are medium – high height as the blocks surveillance opportunities. A low hedge or trees with their crowns raised still reinforcement territory

• Neighbourhood design should encourage way finding and enhance legitimate usage (e.g. clearly marked signage and corresponding pathways)

Eyes On The Street (Surveillance)• Plan pathways to be accessible and designed to create opportunities

for passive surveillance. Avoid pathways behind developments (e.g. at cul-de-sac heads)

• Limit use of battleaxe blocks and/or rear service lanes to only applications that detail surveillance measures and incorporation of CPTED principles

• Use neighbourhood designs that promote multiple space usage, encouraging local access and passive surveillance (e.g. office and shopping space within unit blocks)

• Ensure community public space in strongly overlooked from all adjoining buildings and their uses, facilitating natural surveillance of space

• Promote the development of a variety of housing types in neighbourhoods, enhancing passive surveillance at different times of the day (e.g. houses and units in the same block)

• All public streets should be overlooked by appropriate buildings• Streets which encourage strong pedestrian accessibility should not

be overlooked by developments that limit opportunities for street level surveillance

• Lighting illumination should overlap the next beam of light from the next pole, creating a corridor of light on access ways. As a guide lighting should enable pedestrians to identify each other from 10 meters away

• Movement and diffused based lighting is useful in highlighting when spaces are in use and can create innovative design features which enhance security

Funding support provided by department

oF Justice and attorney general

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