Residential Environment and Burglary Crime Risk: A Space Syntax Analysis of Crime Areas

Abstract

This paper explores the different morphological characteristics of residential neighbourhood spaces to understand the factors that constitute burglary crime risk in the area. The methods used for data collection include field surveys and Block Environmental Inventory. Meanwhile, inferential statistics, Geographic Information System and space syntax tools were used for data analysis. Findings indicated the influence of neighbourhood-built features on burglary crime and the vulnerability of areas to future crime risk. The analysis shows the spatial variation of crime risk factors across the study areas and how that shaped the understanding of burglary activities in the area. The study explores the influence of the permeability of grid iron layouts on vulnerability and explains high and low crime rates in the areas of Perumahan Mahsuri and Perumahan Sunway Tunas, respectively. Overall, the paper suggests further research to correlate these spatial explanations with the socio-demographics of the areas studied.