Abstract

Crime and fear of crime are getting one of the most serious problems of today’s cities. It is obvious that, better planning and design solutions can play a crucial role for reducing crime and improving safety in urban environments. Although the importance of design on crime prevention has been emphasized for many years in order to create sustainable communities, “Crime Prevention through Design” is a relatively new concept particularly for developing countries. In order to fill this vital gap, this study tries to explain the importance of awareness and knowledge, as well as cooperation, for crime prevention through design studies. Besides, the study also points out what kind of obstacles and deficiencies exist in terms of crime and how this concept needs to be undertaken to create safer and sustainable public spaces, as well as cities. Finally, this paper develops a sample model for “Crime Prevention through Design” in the light of the findings of the research process which is carried out both in Turkey and in UK.