Abstract
Past researches have shown that fear of crime is influenced by environmental features and social variables. Most such studies on fear of crime have paid attention to either environmental clues or social-cultural variables independently. Primarily this paper argues that planners and planning practice require a holistic understanding of fear of crime to be effective at policy development, implementation and evaluation. A more holistic understanding of fear of crime can be achieved by combining environmental approaches and social approaches. One conceptual framework that can help to achieve this is prospect and refuge. Prospect and refuge, as a theoretical framework, enables researchers and planners to consider how environmental features such as the density of the urban fabric, lighting, and social features such as presence of people and activity jointly influence fear of crime in relation to subjective experience of individuals’ identifiable characteristics which for this paper, comprise gender and status as a local or international Asian student.
Highlights
Fear of crime is a vital concept to be studied because it affects the well-being of individuals and society as a whole
This paper argues that planners and planning practice will be more effective at policy development, implementation and evaluation if evolutionary biology and socio-cultural theory are merged with current planning and urban design theory
The merging of these theoretical and conceptual models will create a more holistic understanding of fear of crime based on the dynamic relationship between people and their environments
Summary
Fear of crime is a vital concept to be studied because it affects the well-being of individuals and society as a whole. Fear of crime can have detrimental effects on individuals’ psychology as it can limit people’s freedom and choice, significantly influencing individual behaviour in space. This paper argues that planners and planning practice will be more effective at policy development, implementation and evaluation if evolutionary biology (prospect & refuge theory) and socio-cultural theory are merged with current planning and urban design theory. The merging of these theoretical and conceptual models will create a more holistic understanding of fear of crime based on the dynamic relationship between people and their environments
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