The Effect on Vandalism of Perception Factors Related to Housing Design, Case of U.A.E Cities

Abstract

Current literature on vandalism recognises three main reasons for the increase in vandalism in certain housing areas: the design of the housing environment, social characteristics of the residents, and system of management. The physical design features such as the extent of available public spaces and the height of multi-storey blocks of flats are considered to be important. Some studies point to other factors related to the perceptions invoked by the design of public spaces in housing areas, in particular the perceptions of visibility through dwelling windows, the accessibility by the residents, and property ownership. However, there is a lack of research on the effect of perception factors on vandalism. This study attempts to overcome this deficiency in data regarding the problem of vandalism in U.A.E. cities.
The study results showed that there is a relationship between vandalism and perception factors invoked by the design of public spaces in housing areas. The perception of visibility appeared to exert a robust effect on vandalism and the perception of accessibility was found to strengthen the effect of the perception of visibility. The study provides some insight into the possible effect of the perception of property ownership and density of youngsters on vandalism.