The influence of urban built environment on residential burglary in China: Testing the encounter and enclosure hypotheses
| Author | Han Yue,Xinyan Zhu |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895819874868 |
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895819874868
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2021, Vol. 21(4) 508 –528
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1748895819874868
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The influence of urban built
environment on residential
burglary in China: Testing
the encounter and
enclosure hypotheses
Han Yue
Wuhan University, China
Xinyan Zhu
Wuhan University, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Geospatial Technology, China
Abstract
It is widely recognized that crimes are clustered in space. Features of the built environment
are among various factors associated with crime clustering patterns. There are two competing
perspectives on this association: the “encounter” and “enclosure” hypotheses. This study
examines the effect of the built environment on the spatial distribution of residential burglary
in Wuhan, China, aiming to test these two competing perspectives. First, we review existing
studies analyzing the influence of the built environment on residential burglary, especially those
based on the two hypotheses. We then conduct an exploratory data analysis to observe the
spatial and temporal distribution patterns of residential burglaries. Next, we use a multivariate
spatial regression model to evaluate the influence of various built environment characteristics
on residential burglaries, after controlling for socio-demographic variables, guardianship, and the
time-of-day effect. The results suggest a double peak in the hourly distribution of burglaries: 6:00
a.m.–8:59 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.–7:59 p.m. Burglaries are positively and significantly autocorrelated
in space and mainly concentrated in the north-west and central areas of Wuhan. Two transport
facilities features (intersection density and the presence of subway stations), three building
features (multiple stories, high housing prices, and older houses), and land-use mix are each
positively correlated with burglary. However, the burglary count is negatively correlated with
the ratio of the residential land. Overall, neighborhoods with high permeability are vulnerable to
Corresponding author:
Han Yue, State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing,
Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China.
Email: hanyue.geo@gmail.com
874868CRJ0010.1177/1748895819874868Criminology & Criminal JusticeYue and Zhu
research-article2019
Article
Yue and Zhu 509
residential burglaries. Thus, the principle of access control promoted by the enclosure hypothesis
appears effective in preventing residential crime. The results’ implications for crime prevention
and urban design practice are also discussed.
Keywords
Built environment, enclosure, encounter, environmental criminology, residential burglary
Introduction
With the continuous advance of urbanization, research has persistently stressed that crime
is a key issue for society and that safety is a prerequisite for a high-quality sustainable
environment. Mainstream criminology studies have traditionally focused on criminality
itself, using captured criminals’ background information (such as their physiology and psy-
chology, social disadvantages, and development experiences) to explore how individuals
become offenders (Bennett and Wright, 1984). Such after-the-fact research contributes lit-
tle information of direct relevance to crime prevention or control, considering neither the
role of the criminal justice system in deterring criminals nor the immediate environmental
context of crimes, on which basis strategies may be formulated (Brantingham and
Brantingham, 1975; Jeffery, 1971). It was not until the publication of C Ray Jeffery’s
Crime Prevention through Environmental Design that people increasingly began to pay
attention to crime prevention, not just offenders’ characteristics (Brantingham and
Brantingham, 1975). Jeffery posited an association between physical environment and
crime and advocated altering locations where many crimes are committed to make them
unattractive to offenders (Jeffery, 1971). Since then, theoretical and empirical researchers
have started to attach importance to the influence of built environment on crime.
Environmental criminologists contend that the physical environment plays a significant
role in the spatial distribution of crime, creating conditions for the confluence of motivated
offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of qualified guardians1 at a particular place and
time (Brantingham and Brantingham, 1999; Cohen and Felson, 1979). To better understand
the generative rules of crime and develop relevant crime-prevention strategies, criminolo-
gists, urban designers, planners, and environmental psychologists have extensively
researched the relationship between spatial distribution and the environmental determi-
nants of crime. More specifically, there are two competing perspectives regarding the effect
of the built environment on the geographic distribution of crime: the encounter and enclo-
sure hypotheses. The encounter hypothesis posits that permeable living environments are
less prone to crime (Dovey, 1998). Permeable areas have good accessibility and transporta-
tion conditions, thereby attracting many people and activities. The congregation of visitors
and local residents can provide informal surveillance in such areas, thus promoting safety
(Jacobs, 1961). In contrast, the enclosure hypothesis contends that more “enclosed” (or less
permeable) residential areas are safer. Residents living in such areas have clear territoriality
over their residences, and any suspicious strangers can easily be discovered and chal-
lenged, thus precluding criminal activity (Dovey, 1998).
Many researchers from different cities have studied the validity of both hypotheses;
however, most studies have focused on European and American cities. Surprisingly, the
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