Abstract
In case of the middle-rise apartment-houses in Japan, most of the off-limit lawn yards attached to the buildings have been transformed to the paved common yards, in oder to save budget and total spaces. It causes that the inhabitants feel their dwelling units less defensible to the eyes and the intrusion of others. But in the case that they have frequent outdoor behaivor on their stair-case and their common yard, they feel their dwelling units defensible as well as in the off-limit lawn yards. It showes the physical setting for defensibility to privacy and crime. 1) Each entrance yard between dwelling unit and stair-case should be designed as the semi-private space (outside private space). 2) The paved common yards should be provided to each 20-30 dwelling units' group. 3) Each living room of ground floor level units should be given a direct access-route to the south common yard in addition to a route through stair-case. 4) Every dwelling units should be given a short access-route to the south common yard. If "territory" spreading around dwelling units is designed continuously and divisibly according to visibility and acessibility, inhabitants use their semi-private space and their common space more frequently, and so they adapt them-selves to their sorroundings. They live open to outside of their houses and feel defensible to privacy and crime.
