ABSTRACT
From Brantingham, P.L., and Brantingham, P.J. (1993). Nodes, paths and edges: Considerations on the complexity of crime and the physical environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13, 3-28.
12.1 Abstract 274 12.2 Overview 274 12.3 Background 274 12.4 Framework 277 12.5 Complex Etiology 279 12.6 Individual Criminal Behavior: The Influence of the Physical
Environment 285 12.6.1 Routine Activities/Travel Paths/Nodes 286 12.6.2 Target Choice 290 12.6.3 Crime Template 291
12.7 Aggregate Crime Patterns: The Influence of the Physical Environment 296 12.7.1 The Urban Mosaic and Crime 296 12.7.2 Activity Nodes 298 12.7.3 Pathways 300 12.7.4 Edge Effects 301 12.7.5 Territoriality: Residential Areas 302
12.7.5.1 Outsiders 304 12.7.5.2 Insiders 306
12.7.6 Aggregate Patterns Summary 307 12.8 Conclusions 308
Crime has long been thought to be intimately associated with the physical environment in which it occurs. Theoretical and empirical developments over the past 20 years demonstrate that this relationship is complex and varies substantially at different levels of spatial and temporal resolution. Research on the distribution of property crimes in time and space resonates with research on the target selection processes of offenders to suggest that crime is strongly related to aggregate elements of the perceived physical environment: nodes, paths, edges, and an environmental backcloth. The relationship between crime and the physical environment is mediated through individual awareness and action spaces. This implies a series of research issues and crime control policies for future exploration.
