# Evaluating Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design For Youth Violence Prevention

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $78,000

## Abstract

Abstract
Epidemiological researchers have indicated that youth violent injury (YVI) is a significant public health issue in
the U.S. Rates of youth violence are higher in urban environments compared to suburban and rural settings.
Declining economic resources and out-migration from many urban centers often create environmental, social,
and economic conditions associated with YVI. CPTED is a youth violence prevention strategy that changes
physical and social environments to promote defensible space and deter YVI. Physical CPTED strategies
include territoriality (defined ownership), surveillance (sightlines, lighting), access control (paths, entryways),
and target hardening (locks, fencing). Social CPTED strategies include cohesion (neighborhood problem
solving, conflict resolution), culture (community events and commemorations), connectivity (linkages with
community agencies), and participation (residents' engagement in planning and implementation). We apply
Busy Streets Theory (i.e., positive neighborhood social processes, including resident interaction and
participation, that foster social resources to create safe environments) to understand the effectiveness of
physical and social CPTED strategies in reducing YVI. We will use data from our original Crime Prevention
Through Environmental Design (CPTED) study to examine our data in more-depth to understand how CPTED
may operate to prevent YVI in an urban corridor. We extend our research with new aims because we examine:
1) the intensity of physical and social CPTED strategies on YVI; 2) the underlying mechanisms (i.e., changes in
physical disorder, resident engagement and perception) that links CPTED to YVI reduction; and 3) test the
synergistic effects of physical and social CPTED on YVI reduction. We conducted our original study in Flint, MI,
an economically challenged city with high rates of violent crime, in partnership with a local coalition (University
Avenue Corridor Coalition- UACC) of residents, community groups, churches, hospitals, and two small
universities. We will evaluate the effect of physical and social CPTED strategies across 441 street segments in
the UACC area with a focus on YVI from emergency room treatment records and police incident victimization
data. We will also investigate whether physical and social CPTED improves residential community
engagement, perceptions about the neighborhood, and physical disorder that may be associate with YVI.
Lastly, we will examine the interaction of social and physical CPTED strategies to understand they may
operate together to enhance the influence of each other for preventing YVI.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9991872
- **Project number:** 5R03HD099097-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** THOMAS M REISCHL
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $78,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-08 → 2021-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9991872

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9991872, Evaluating Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design For Youth Violence Prevention (5R03HD099097-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9991872. Licensed CC0.

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