Modifying the built environment: the impact of improved street lighting

Abstract

With the increase in recorded crime and evidence of greater fear of crime in many cities, the issue of community safety has become of great significance. There are many ways in which crime prevention can be implemented and experiments with different measures have had varying levels of success. One approach is to modify the built environment in which people live on the assumption that there are design features which reduce an area's vulnerability to crime. Street lighting is one facet of the built environment and a nationwide initiative involving six cities examined the impact of improved street lighting upon crime and community safety. A comparative study of two of those cities, Hull and Cardiff, shows some of the results of this experiment. Whereas the impact upon crime per se was difficult to assess, there were clear indicators that improved street lighting led to higher levels of community safety amongst residents of the two study areas. Fear of crime was diminished and the fact that street lighting had been improved was seen as a positive investment in the two areas which achieved real and recognizable gains.