(Ebook) Enhancing Security in Affordable Housing: The Case of Prince Fawaz Project by Professor Dr. Maged Attia

(Ebook) Enhancing Security in Affordable Housing: The Case of Prince Fawaz Project by Professor Dr. Maged Attia

The present study argues that the urban form of affordable housingprojects affects safety and security. The study examines the level ofsafety and security in the Prince Fawaz project proposingrecommendations that enhance it. Theories and approaches concernedwith the environmental crime are initially reviewed. Then, urban andarchitectural features as well as crime rates and patterns aredocumented. Also, trace and behaviour observations are carried out.The observations monitored urban features and behaviours associatedwith crime or fear of crime. Residents’ perceptionof security and fearof crime is extracted through a questionnaire. A Space Syntax isprocessed and linked with the questionnaire and observation outputs.Observations demonstrate a semblance of fear of crime which issupported by records of car and home theft. Although the questionnairereflects a suitable level of security, it points to peripheral spaces andareas around mosques and shops as the less secure. However,enhancing security in the Prince Fawaz project requires urbaninterventions including controlling access to peripheral spaces,reviving areas detected to be unsafe, repositioning elements causingvisual obstacles and enhancing appearance by vegetation andsustainable maintenance. Besides, reformulating the movementnetwork so that an appropriate integration between residents andstrangers is achieved. On the conceptual level, the study proves thatnone of the theories of environmental crime can act as a comprehensiveapproach; but each can partly work. JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2021),5(1), 85-100. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2021.v5n1-8