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Eyes on the Street
“This is something everyone knows: A well-used city street is apt to be a safe street. A deserted city street is apt to be unsafe.”
— Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs argued, contrary to common wisdom in the 1960's, that streets are safer when more people are on them. They are also safer when people are able and willing to watch the street from windows. In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she explains how to make public streets and public spaces secure. Her ideas are a prescription for real crime prevention, not simply a way to achieve a feeling of security. Safe, well-used streets are inherently livable streets.
Qualities of a Safe Neighborhood Street
1. Buildings must be facing the street. They should not turn their backs on the street, and they should not be security gated so that residents have no reason to care about what happens in their neighborhood. Active building fronts (porches, shops, restaurants) are best. 
2. There should be eyes upon the street from the buildings lining the street. Good building design provides windows and porches that allow a clear view of the street and the neighborhood.
3. The sidewalk should be used continuously, at nearly all hours, to not only add a sense of community but also encourage neighbors to watch the street: “Nobody enjoys sitting on a stoop or looking out a window on an empty street. Almost nobody does such a thing”. [1]
4. Children are able to play on sidewalks and streets. Attempting to create secure, isolated courtyards or gated play areas is futile: “No normal person can spend his life in some artificial haven, and this includes children.” [1] Well-used streets and public spaces are the best defense against potential criminals.
5. Neighborhood streets should be as narrow as possible and accommodate only slow moving traffic. Not only are they easier to cross, narrow streets are much more pleasant for all activities, such as walking along the sidewalk or sitting in an outdoor café. The best way to discourage street use is to build wide roads with high volumes of high-speed traffic. Motor vehicles, en masse, make streets unlivable.
6. A large number of shops and public places, particularly those that are bustling at night, should be sprinkled throughout a neighborhood, . Such attractions give people a reason to use sidewalks, and also help to populate places “which have no attractions to public use in themselves but which become traveled and peopled as routes to somewhere else” [1]. This kind of street activity helps to attract pedestrians and other street users. Shopkeepers also have a vested interest in neighborhood safety, and serve as street guardians.
7. Good lighting offers reassurance to people who wish to use the sidewalk at night, who then become street watchers simply by their presence. While lighting helps to increase the range of view, it alone cannot guarantee safety: “Without effective eyes to see, does a light cast light? Not for practical purposes” [1]. A sufficient number of street users is key.
Defensible Space
When residents exert control over the spaces immediately around their homes, streets tend to be safer. Building design should create a sense of territorialism, which encourages people to maintain their own portion of the sidewalk and street.
In Creating Defensible Space, architect Oscar Newman asserts that only certain building layouts promote neighborhood security. Inhabitants of single family homes — including detached houses and rowhouses — feel that they own the street space outside their doors. 
On the contrary, those living in high-rises are disassociated with the common areas in and around the building. Newman explains:
“When the numbers increase, the opportunity for reaching such an implicit understanding diminishes to the point where no usage other than walking through the area is really possible, while every use is permissible. The larger the number of people who share a communal space, the more difficult it is for people to identify it as being theirs or to feel they have a right to control or determine the activity taking place within it.” [2]
The number of units per building entry is therefore very important. If very few families share an entrance or landing, they are able to better control these spaces. Residents are more likely to linger in safe, inviting areas, which will attract more people. On residential blocks, active building fronts are created when neighbors socialize outdoors.
Broken Windows Theory
A related concept is the Broken Windows Theory developed by George Kelling and James Wilson [3]. It states that even the smallest aberrations in appearance and behavior can send a neighborhood into a spiral of decay. Cosmetic blemishes, like broken windows, litter and graffiti, make a neighborhood appear unsafe. Tolerance of improper behavior leads to rowdiness (and, eventually, violence) as community controls disintegrate. Even if the crime rate remains steady, it will appear to be on the rise: “many residents will think that crime, especially violent crime, is on the rise, and they will modify their behavior accordingly. They will use the streets less often, and when on the streets will stay apart from their fellows, moving with averted eyes, silent lips, and hurried steps. 'Don't get involved'. " [3] This street desertion can ruin a neighborhood, as families move away and “eyes on the street” are lost.
ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK
REFERENCES
Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.
[1] Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Random House, New York. 1961.
[2] Newman, Oscar. Creating Defensible Space. U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development. April 1996.[3] Kelling, George L. and James Q. Wilson. “Broken Windows”. The Atlantic Monthly. March 1982.
[4]
PICTURE REFERENCES
Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.
[1] Street view of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NYC from Scandblue's photostream on Flickr.
[2] The Sidewalk Cafe in Prague from Zehawk's photostream on Flickr.
[3] Victorians on Victoria Avenue – Rowhouses in Montreal, from rosy_outlook’s photostream on Flickr
