Dangerous Heights

High-rise buildings mean high crime rates. That is the conclusion of Defensible Space, a new report on housing by a New York University team of architects and social scientists. In 1969, the team found, there were 70 serious crimes for every thousand families in New York City buildings more than 13 stories high. With six or seven floors, the number of crimes dropped to 42 per thousand, while in three-story walk-ups, the figure was only 31. The most hazardous living quarters were tall buildings with "double-loaded corridors" (apartments on both sides of the hall). In these buildings the corridors are "a nether world of crime and fear" where it is difficult to distinguish residents from strangers. The only "defensible space" is the apartment itself. In walk-ups, however, hallways are in effect part of people's homes, and as a result, "defensible space is extended."

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