Crime and the city: Domestic burglary and the built environment in Tehran

Abstract

Environmental criminologists have correlated crime patterns with the environmental and physical layout of places where crimes occur. This paper reports on some of the findings derived from a major research carried out in Tehran, focusing on the link between built environment and residential burglary. After a brief review of crime prevention approaches in the built environment and their theoretical basis, the paper examines how burglars select their targets, and investigates the significance of geographical distance and target hardening for crime prevention. It shows the limitations of distance and target hardening as deterrents, their potential impact on deepening the city's socio-spatial divide, and their negative implications for the quality of the urban environment.