Community Development

• Author: L?cr?mioara Mocanu, Diana Pradai?
• Position: Associate Professor, PhD, Faculty of Communication and International Relations, Specialization Psychology, Danubius University of Galati, Romania/Professor, APIEU Bacau, Romania
• Pages: 357-361

ISSN: 2067 – 9211 New Trends in Psychology

357

Community Development

Lăcrămioara Mocanu1, Diana Pradaiș2

Abstract: The article approaches the issue of crime-prevention through urban planning in Norway, discussing

the ideas and differences between physical(hard) and symbolic(soft) delineations of territo ry, questioning if

they might not be that different, since they share similar objectives: to protect against someone or to prevent

someone from accessing an area. In Norwegian history, the year 1970 marks, among many others, the

beginning of a new urban planning movement called Crime Prevention through Environmental Design

(CPTED). The basic idea behind the program – as well as the Scandinavian crime prevention system – is to

prevent crime. However, the main difference is that the new movement militated for the marking of territories

with symbolic, inclusive measures rather than fences and walls.

Keywords: crime-prevention; urban planning; Norwegian history

“Urban environments can be designed or redesigned to reduce the opportunities to crime (or fear of

crime), but without resorting to the building of fortress and the resulting deterioration of urban life.

This is not just law enforcement and punishment and not just armed guards and big-brother

surveillance, but the ‘restoration’ of informal social control and the way of helping ordinary citizens

‘regain’ control and take responsibility of their immediate environment.”- Stanley Cohen, 1985.

The article approaches the issue of crime-prevention through urban planning in Norway, discussing

the ideas and differences between physical(hard) and symbolic(soft) delineations of territory,

questioning if they might not be that different, since they share similar objectives: to protect against

someone or to prevent someone from accessing an area.

In Norwegian history, the year 1970 marks, among many others, the beginning of a new urban

planning movement called Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). The basic idea

behind the program – as well as the Scandinavian crime prevention system – is to prevent crime.

However, the main difference is that the new movement militated for the marking of territories with

symbolic, inclusive measures rather than fences and walls.

1 Associate Professor, PhD, Faculty of Communication and International Relations, Specialization Psychology, Danubius

University of Galati, Romania, Address: 3 Galati Blvd., 800654 Galati, Romania, Tel.: +40372361102, Fax: +40372361290,

Corresponding author: lacramioaramocanu@univ-danubius.ro.

2 Professor, APIEU Bacau, Romania, Address: 33, Str. Mihai Eminescu, Bacau, Romania.