Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) for Public Transit Stations

Project Abstract

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) uses design principles to engineer safer spaces through management of both built and natural environmental features. CPTED principles aim to reduce chances and fear of criminal activity through design of spaces that both deter criminal activity and build community. Vacant lots, poor lighting, uncontrolled access, and lack of monitoring can be ameliorated to design spaces in which people feel – and are – safer. CPTED is multi-disciplinary in nature and has evolved from analysis of spaces, to include social relations and overall livability of areas. Public transportation can be an attractor of crime, and safety is cited as one barrier to public transportation. This project will examine CPTED practices in place in state DOTs and local transit agencies serving Wilmington, Delaware, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. As part of the project, the research team will catalog CPTED practices already in use, even if outside of a comprehensive CPTED framework. The team will develop a CPTED checklist for rail and bus stations based on existing literature and analyze CPTED features in place at transit stops/stations in high and low crime areas of cities chosen in consultation with state and local stakeholders. The work will be accomplished through site visits, interviews with state DOT staff and local transportation agencies, and review of transportation station design standards. Based on findings, the team will develop a set of practices and priorities for integrating CPTED into transit station design to fill gaps identified through the study.

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Universities Involved

University of Delaware

Principle Investigators

Dr. Jennie Saxe

Funding Sources and Amounts

USDOT: $100,000

Start Date

September 1, 2023

Completion Date

September 1, 2024

Expected Research Outcomes & Impacts

This research is at the intersection of critical, societal issues of fostering sustainability and addressing crime through novel approaches. This research is also transformative in its application of a principle which is used around the world but is rarely applied in the US. This work is also transformative in that it will include students from multiple disciplines on the research team; working across disciplines helps to fold diverse perspectives into the research team and instills the importance of collaboration into the students’ professional careers. This research will also provide a practical framework for tailoring CPTED principles for use in public transit in the US. CPTED is unique in that it applies not only surveillance and access strategies but also societal and livability principles to make spaces less attractive for crime.

Subject Areas

Safety, Public Transit, Infrastructure Design and Planning