CIVIL SPACES - A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE

The works of Oscar Newman (1972) and Jane Jacobs (1961) produced impor tant theoretical foundations essential to the examination of a phenome non that is now commonly referred to as defensible space. Their work, however appears to lack coherence in that the explanation for what New man terms social fabric is vague and does not fully explain how this q uality emerges. Thus, a theoretical link between the built environment and civil behavior has been absent from the defensible space discours e. Building on Newman's and Jacobs's observations, this paper will sug gest that Norbert Elias's (1939/1994) work, The Civilizing Process, ca n be used to develop a critical perspective on defensible space. I ach ieve this by using Elias's thesis to link Newman's concept of social f abric with the crime-deterrence capabilities of the built environment. This viewpoint establishes a theoretical framework from which defensi ble space's manifestations such as the concept of gated enclaves can b e examined. Offered is the idea that the relation between civil behavi or and both private and public spaces is critical to defensible space studies. Once outlined, the new perspective establishes a theoretical framework from which further research on defensible space can be devel oped.