ABSTRACT
This chapter serves as a sequel to Chapter 2 as it seeks to build on the foundations provided by the routine activities approach and defensible space theory in constructing an integrated theoretical framework in order to explain how residents can protect and defend their surroundings from crime. Having described the weaknesses of defensible space theory in the preceding chapter, this chapter presents theories that have developed on the work of defensible space and in doing so addressed some of the critiques highlighted in Chapter 1. This chapter also showcases theories related to defensible space theory that can support and develop our understanding of the processes that enable guardianship by residents in residential environments. This sets the scene for the following chapter in which a new model of guardianship – guardianship in action (GIA) – is presented as a model to explain and measure how residents guard against crime at places.
