More than half a century ago, urban planners across the United States advocated a groundbreaking philosophy—rejuvenating cities by emphasizing open spaces and encouraging broad public access throughout traditional neighborhoods.
One by-product of this philosophy is a successful approach to public safety called “crime prevention through environmental design.” This approach seeks to deter criminal activity, creates a greater sense of community, and promotes social cohesion through design features that include enhanced lighting, strategic landscaping and streetscapes that encourage pedestrian traffic.
In this spirit, the University of Georgia continues to focus on creating community and facilitating safety. The university’s ultimate goals include enabling people who live and work at UGA to feel safer and less isolated across campus.
Gwynne Darden, UGA’s associate vice president and university architect, discusses the details of this approach with WUGA’s Greg Trevor. It’s the latest episode of our series, “A Few Minutes With…” exploring UGA initiatives and their benefits to the state of Georgia.
On Thursday, February 27th and Friday, February 28th, the university hosted two, one-day courses on “Crime Prevention through Environmental Design for the Design Professional.” More information about these courses can be found at crimepreventioncenter.org.