Applied Criminology Centre

Residential Design and Crime Briefing Notes

• Funding Body:ACPO Secured by Design, Home Office and Design Council/CABE
• Duration: April 2011 to June 2011
• Project leader(s): Dr Rachel Armitage

The University of Huddersfield recently completed a Home Office/CABE funded project on the impact of residential design on crime. This project, led by the University of Huddersfield, involved researchers from Salford University, Loughborough University and Central Saint Martin's, as well as a leading expert in urban design - Professor Ian Colquhoun.

The project - which took place in 2009 and 2010 aimed to clarify some of the confusion relating to the design of residential areas and the subsequent impact on crime and disorder.

In an attempt to ensure that these important findings are disseminated to practitioners (including police, planners, architects, urban designers), ACPO Secured by Design,  the Home Office and the Design Council/CABE have funded the University of Huddersfield (led by Dr. Rachel Armitage) to write a series of briefing notes. The subjects include:

1. The impact of the design of car parking on crime 
2. The impact of connectivity and through-movement on crime
3. Using case studies to assess the impact of housing design on crime

Please click on the links above to download the briefing notes as a PDF.

For more information on the Applied Criminology Centre and the research which they are involved with, please visit the main website.