Defensible Space on the Move: Mobilisation in English Housing Policy and Practice (RGS-IBG Book Series) - Hardcover

Lees, Loretta; Warwick, Elanor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1119500443 ISBN 13: 9781119500445

Publisher: Wiley, 2022

Synopsis

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

About this title

About the Author

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.

From the Back Cover

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.

From the Inside Flap

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1119500443
• ISBN 13: 9781119500445
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304