Defensible Space on the Move: Mobilisation in English Housing Policy and Practice - Paperback

by Loretta Lees (Author), Elanor Warwick (Author)

Both theoretically informed and empirically rich, Defensible Space makes an important conceptual contribution to policy mobilities thinking, to policy and practice, and also to practitioners handling of complex spatial concepts.

• Critically examines the geographical concept Defensible Space, which has been influential in designing out crime to date, and has been applied to housing estates in the UK, North America, Europe and beyond
• Evaluates the movement/mobility/mobilisation of defensible space from the US to the UK and into English housing policy and practice
• Explores the multiple ways the concept of defensible space was interpreted and implemented, as it circulated from national to local level and within particular English housing estates
• Critiquing and pushing forwards work on policy mobilities, the authors illustrate for the first time how transfer mechanisms worked at both a policy and practitioner level
• Drawing on extensive archival research, oral histories and in-depth interviews, this important book reveals defensible space to be ambiguous, uncertain in nature, neither proven or disproven scientifically

Back Jacket

"Design against crime? What could be better! This compelling story of where 'defensible space' came from, how the idea has changed, and what difference it has made to cities and social life is unputdownable. It turns on a riveting account of the individuals who championed (and some who resisted) the concept - a band of unlikely influencers whose mix of conviction, charisma and common sense became embedded in domestic space."

--Susan J. Smith, Mistress of Girton College and Honorary Professor of Social and Economic Geography, University of Cambridge, UK

"This book by Loretta Lees and Elanor Warwick is essentially a great detective story - a whodunnit of how allegedly research-based theory can translate into policy and ultimately into accepted practice. There is a cast of many well-known characters whose interaction on the question of whether physical determinism can affect human behaviour is rich and fascinating. With planning and urban design again at the centre of politics, this book is an essential source."

--Ben Derbyshire, Chair of HTA Design LLP, Former Past President of RIBA and Historic England Commissioner

"Rarely do I savour a book with such enthusiasm, absorbed by the detail and delighted by the presentation. This is the missing text that I have craved - a text that explains, in meticulous detail, how the rather abstract concept of Defensible Space managed to jump the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge and successfully embed itself into practice."

--Rachel Armitage, Professor of Criminology, University of Huddersfield, UK

The geographical concept Defensible Space, influential in designing out crime to date, has been applied to housing estates in the UK, North America, Europe, and beyond. Fellow urbanists Loretta Lees and Elanor Warwick critically examine the movement/mobility/mobilisation of defensible space from the US to the UK and into English housing policy and practice. Drawing on extensive archival research, oral histories and in-depth interviews, they explore the multiple ways the concept of defensible space was interpreted and implemented as it circulated from national to local level and within particular English housing estates, especially in London. Critiquing, and pushing forwards, work on policy mobilities they illustrate for the first time how the transfer mechanisms for this complex spatial concept worked at both a policy and practitioner level.

This important book reveals defensible space to be ambiguous, uncertain in nature, neither proven or disproven scientifically. The idea remains a cluster of significant but disputed elements. Built environment professionals continue to espouse the concept, but the detailed evidence presented in this book, and its reflections on the future role of shared space post the Covid-19 pandemic, should urge them to think again.

Author Biography

Loretta Lees is an urban geographer who is internationally known for her research on gentrification/urban regeneration, global urbanism, urban policy, urban public space, critical geographies of architecture, and urban social theory. She has been identified as the only woman in the top 20 most referenced authors in urban geography worldwide (Urban Studies, 2017). Since 2009 she has co-organised The Urban Salon: A London Forum for Architecture, Cities and International Urbanism. She is also a Scholar-Activist who supports, and co-produces research with, community groups and social movements, most recently with respect to the demolition of council estates in London. She is the current Chair of the London Housing Panel funded by the GLA and Trust for London; and the incoming Director of the Initiative on Cities at Boston University, USA.

Elanor Warwick worked as an architect and urban designer before focusing on built environment research, particularly design quality and the delivery of good, affordable housing and places. As Head of Research at CABE (Commission for Architecture and Built Environment), she delivered research to shape the policy for a wide range of Central Government Departments (MHCLG, DfE, HO, and the Treasury) and the Greater London Authority. She now works within the social housing sector leading the research and policy team at Clarion Housing Group, England's largest housing association, whilst continuing to teach and supervise postgraduate students at UCL and Cambridge Universities.