2019 Scienceline Publication

Journal of Civil Engineering and Urbanism

Volume 9, Issue 6: 51-56; November 25, 2019

ISSN-2252-0430

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.29252/scil.2019.jceu8

Recognition of the Impact of High-Rise Construction on The

Security of Residential Areas based on Environmental Design

Fahimeh Abdi

Master’s Graduate of Geography and Urban Planning, University of Tabriz, Iran

^Corresponding author’s Email: abdi.fahimeh@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Feelings of comfort and safety are among the most important issues that sustain cities, and crime is one of the

most important factors in reducing the level of safety in society. There are many theories available in the field of

urban crime, but due to the high cost and inefficiency of these methods, crime prevention strategy and

investigation of the principles of this approach becomes more and more necessary through the design of urban

environments. This theory claims that with proper use and density and environmental design, in addition to

reducing criminal opportunities, the quality of life can also be increased. The purpose of this paper is to identify

the causes of reduced security in urban residential areas and to examine the relationship between these factors and

high-rise construction. Therefore, using descriptive and library methods, the relationship between density and

security is examined and finally the practical strategies of this theory are explained to prevent crime in residential

areas.

Keywords: High-Rise Construction, Security, Urban Crime, Environmental Design

INTRODUCTION

related activities. Implementation of simple and regular

forms, in addition to contributing to the stability of the

building, increases safety in tall buildings. Proper order

and combination with the surrounding buildings, balance,

symmetry and unity, are effective factors in creating the

desired visual form and appearance of tall buildings. To

create a human scale and optimize the form of the

building, it is possible to create a good relationship

between the form and the viewer by creating a depth of

view of the building in the space around the building

(Golabchi, 2001; Salehi, 2008 ).

As a method to create more urban space, high-rise

construction has attracted human attention around the

world for more than a century. The industrial revolution in

Europe and the following developments in the 18th and

19th centuries led to the creation of new cities, followed

by the construction of tall buildings in today's style. In the

twentieth century, issues such as population growth, the

need to accommodate more people in cities, the need to

use land in densely populated urban areas, the demand for

people to live or work in urban centers, and the reduction

in costs caused by horizontal urban expansion were

considered among the reasons for construction of high-

rise buildings as a necessity in world's major cities

(Golabchi, 2001; Ardekani et al., 2020 ). Since the

architecture and style of the building play an important

role in shaping the relationships, mood and culture of the

residents, the body of many urban spaces and buildings

has provided backgrounds for the emergence of Western

and European culture in Iran (Mohammadi, 2012 Pearson,

1997). Apartments themselves are divided into two

groups, in which conventional and short buildings are up

to 8 floors and taller ones are called towers or high-rise

buildings. In addition to the energy sector, the threats

posed by high-rise buildings are also seen in the field of

usage, and it overshadows issues such as spatial quality

and security. Collective spaces, if properly designed to

accommodate residents, can become areas for interaction

and exchange of views. In addition to being used for any

residential, commercial, or office use, high-rise buildings

can also be used for integrated functions and to centralize

Definition of security

Security is the immunity from forced occupation

without satisfaction. Security for individuals means that

people are not afraid of their legitimate rights and

freedoms, so that their rights are not endangered at all, and

no factor threatens their legitimate rights. In this sense, the

necessity of security in society is derived from the nature

of human rights, and the requirement of legitimate rights

and freedoms is their immunity from aggression and the

avoidance of security risks and threats. Risk includes any

possible factor that leads to the violation of legitimate

rights of individuals (HatamiNejad et al., 2013 ). Basically,

human beings need a sense of security in order to achieve

human goals after satisfying physiological needs, and

more important than security is the sense of security.

Some experts see the sense of security in a society as

more important than security since although there may be

disciplinary and police security in societies, but one may

not feel safe. In other words, security begins with the

To cite paper: Abdi F (2019). Recognition of the Impact of High-Rise Construction on The Security of Residential Areas based on Environmental Design. J. Civil Eng. Urban.,

9(6): 51-56. https://dx.doi.org/10.29252/scil.2019.jceu8

individual and ends with the family, the community, and

ultimately the international system. In a safe city, safety is

provided in urban spaces, and the person feels safe and

secure in the city (Salehi, 2008 ).

different fields. In urban planning literature, security is

presented as urban security and security in the urban

environment. In recent years, the mission of urban

planning in terms of improving the level of security has

been more focused on how to design spaces and plan

appropriate urban uses. In this regard, we can point to the

crime prevention approach through environmental design

in the design and planning of the environment and urban

landscape, which seeks in improving safety in the city and

thus helping residents feel safe by observing special

standards in the construction and appearance of the

physical environment. Therefore, safe urban space has

vast and extensive objective and physical features and

components, which sometimes have reciprocal effects.

But in addition to that, a safe city environment also

requires social interactions; as the peace and security of

cities is not provided by the police alone. Rather, peace

and security are maintained, mainly through the creation

of a complex and almost unconscious network of

oversight and voluntary observance of norms among the

people themselves, and are carried out by the people

themselves (Salehi, 2008 ). These indicators include the

following:

Human need for security

Security has long been a major human concern. Since

ancient times, security has been the most important

element of life after water and food. Abraham Maslow, a

humanistic psychologist, prioritizes basic human needs in

order of importance, and puts security immediately after

physiological needs (including air, food, housing, and

clothing), and considers other human needs at next,

despite the urgent need for them; because it is believed

that such human needs become meaningless in the

absence of security and peace of mind.

Types of security

•Personal security: A situation in which a person lives

without fear of damaging or losing his life or property or

reputation.

•Social security: “Social security is the ability of a

society to defend his characteristics against real and

potential changes and threats. Social insecurity arises

when societies feel that their identity is at stake (Mazloom

Khorasani, 2006; Ahmad and Esmaeli, 2010; Ahmadi and

Kaldi, 2013).

•Urban security: Security is a general concept that

includes the state of health, peace, well-being of the

individual and the stability of society, and in fact, the

protection from being harmed by others. In general, urban

and social security involves "a space that includes both

objective and subjective dimensions." In the objective

dimension, social security means safe and secure

conditions and its preservation and expansion for

members of society in the face of external factors; Such as

the city riots, crimes, etc. (not in the face of traffic

accidents, floods, fires, earthquakes, and the like), and the

mental dimension of social security means a sense of

security and comfort” (Hezar Jaribi, 2014 ).

1. Physical characteristics that affect the security of

public spaces



Quality of the passage network

Urban furniture

Lighting

Vegetation

Texture density

Closed and open environment

Functional indicators affecting the security of

public spaces



Social (mental) characteristics affecting the

security of public spaces

The Neighborhood

In order to define a neighborhood unit, very different

opinions have been expressed according to various views

and emphases, which have been expressed in six

categories. The first category includes definitions based

on some quantitative characteristics such as: population,

radius (access), size, edge, density, block, elementary

•Environmental

security:

Humans and

the

environment in which they live are inseparable from each

other. This environment is the space and arena for the

implementation of social functions, and many social

interactions take place in it. Security is one of the most

basic needs to maintain and survive these interactions and

for the active presence of people in these spaces (Poor

Jafar, 2008; Parto and Ziabakhsh, 2015 ).

school and number of residential units, etc.

neighborhood unit often focuses on a primary school and

has a mixed social population of between 10,000 and

5,000. The second category includes the definitions

provided by new-city creators. They define

neighborhood unit based on the distances that a healthy

person can walk to the local center. Based on this, they

have proposed a radius of about 400 meters, which creates

areas of about 50 hectares. Such a neighborhood unit does

not intend to be seen from the outside, so neighborhood

units must be connected to each other through a

continuous network of urban movement.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Indicators of security analysis in urban

environments

Security means being safe from fear and intimidation,

and is one of the basic human needs. Each of the different

dimensions of security has been the subject of work in

To cite paper: Abdi F (2019). Recognition of the Impact of High-Rise Construction on The Security of Residential Areas based on Environmental Design. J. Civil Eng. Urban.,

9(6): 51-56. https://dx.doi.org/10.29252/scil.2019.jceu8

The third category includes definitions that do not

emphasize quantitative characteristics such as population,

size, and density, but the main elements in defining the

the capacity of areas in crime occurrence (Ghurchi Beigi,

2007).

Natural Surveillance

neighborhood

unit

include

proximity,

local

- Means the empowerment of the urban environment

through exposure and easy monitoring of urban areas

-Enabling public view of urban areas

- Preventing the creation of uncontrollable areas or

blind areas (Ghurchi Beigi, 2007 ).

communication, participation, political control, physical

and social characteristics, residents, and so on.

The fourth category includes the definition that

provides the neighborhood unit based on its basic-spatial

characteristics. Accordingly, the Neighborhood Unit is

one of the basic spatial features in relation to the groups of

inhabitants, sometimes in relation to other uses of the

earth.

Supporting community activities

This means that in addition to creating jobs and

welfare facilities, it is made possible to increase the level

of human supervision over the regions. Many urban

crimes occur in areas where public oversight is low or

people are not physically present. In this method, an

attempt is made to provide some kind of empowerment in

social activities, and in fact social activities and the

presence of individuals are added to urban areas,

especially in areas where crime is more likely (Ghurchi

Beigi, 2007 ).

In the fifth category, the classification of definitions

is based on the application of two different social and

ecological perspectives.

Crime prevention through environmental design

(CPTED)

According to this theory, urban designers and

planners, with their knowledge and experience, design and

plan urban planning to reduce the fear of crime and reduce

the potential for violations (in the environment) according

to the capacity of the environmental construction. In the

book titled "Death and Life in Big American Cities," Ms.

Jacobs believes that the street factor is more important

than any other factor in creating urban security: "If the

city streets are safe from savagery and fear, the city is safe

from savagery and fear. When it is said that the city is

dangerous, what is essential is that there is no sense of

security in its streets ". According to Ms. Jacobs, factors

such as bright and crowded places with keen eyes, high

public participation, and large enough sidewalks are

effective in shaping a safe urban environment and offering

a variety of uses for city streets (Rezazadeh and Khabir,

2010).

Definition of high-rise construction

High-rise construction is a phenomenon in the world

that has been recorded since the late 19th and early 20th

centuries, and the first steps in the production of

skyscrapers were taken from about 1880 to 1900 in

Chicago.

The last decades of the nineteenth century have been

marked by the beginning of the general growth of high-

rise construction in the West. Although the high-rise

construction phenomenon has always been criticized by

various thinkers in social, economic and urban planning

issues and its application has been viewed with

skepticism, but it has always been able to prove its

permanent presence and add to its field of activity.

On one hand, this phenomenon can answer many

urban issues such as land scarcity, housing shortage, speed

in construction and focus on utility networks, and so on;

but on the other hand, it creates other problems and

shortcomings. In other developed countries, attempts have

been made to take advantage of the benefits of high-rise

construction and to control the issues and problems arising

from it, in accordance with applicable laws and

regulations, and to control the phenomenon. In this effort,

our cities are currently witnessing the growth and

expansion of high-rise buildings, and this is happening at

a time when there is no proper understanding of the

importance of the issue and controllable laws and

regulations are not available (Sadoughian, 1992 ).

Basic principles of CPTED approach

Natural access control

With this principle, access to crime-prone areas in

the city can be reduced for potential offenders. For this

purpose, it is possible to use the passages and access

routes under the supervision of citizens and pedestrians or

residents, which is possible by clearly defining the

entrance and exit of residential buildings in urban sites

and the type and method of lighting and natural

monitoring of access to the site (Ghurchi Beigi, 2007 ).

The realm separates private spaces from the public and is

formed on the basis of the sense of private ownership,

which is made possible by strengthening the sense and

spirit of ownership in constructed and artificial

environments (Ghurchi Beigi, 2007 ).

Definition of the high-rise building limit based on

its height limit

One of the criteria for determining the height of a tall

building is the availability limit of firefighting equipment,

which varies according to the standards mentioned in the

laws of different countries. In Iran, according to the

publication No. 112 of the country's Management and

Repair and maintenance

With proper maintenance of urban furniture and

urban signs and lighting and landscaping lights, in

addition to optimizing urban costs, it is possible to reduce

To cite paper: Abdi F (2019). Recognition of the Impact of High-Rise Construction on The Security of Residential Areas based on Environmental Design. J. Civil Eng. Urban.,

9(6): 51-56. https://dx.doi.org/10.29252/scil.2019.jceu8

Planning Organization, the definition of a tall building is

as follows:

"Any building with height (vertical distance between

the floor level of the highest floor to be used and the

lowest accessible level for firefighting vehicles) more than

23 meters is considered a tall building."

History of high-rise construction in the world

Until the 19th century, high-rise buildings were

limited to shrines, pyramids, castles, amphitheaters,

mosques, and churches that symbolized power and faith.

In ancient Rome, tall concrete structures were used in the

construction of high-rise buildings, the best example of

which is the famous Pantheon in Rome.

With the beginning of the 19th century, the metal

structure gradually replaced the heavy building structure

in the construction of multi-storey buildings. At the same

time with the industrial revolution which brought about

urbanization and the rapid growth of population, the

Definition of high-rise building according to its

characteristics or location in the city and region

This type of definition is based on the characteristics

of the building and its location in the city. One of the

definitions in this regard is as follows:

A tall building is not specifically defined by the

number of floors or its height, but the important feature of

these buildings is that the design or function of the

building is influenced by a symbol of height.

According to the Council on Tall Buildings and

Urban Housing in the United States, without specifying

the height or number of floors, a high-rise building is one

that significantly affects one aspect of space use or

construction planning. Compared to conventional

buildings, these buildings require special rules and

regulations in design, planning and construction.

Buildings above 12-stories are considered high-rise in the

American Urban Planning and Design Standards.

According to the definitions provided, the criteria of

the first type can be changed over time, for example, the

height of fire ladders changes with the improvement of

technology. For this reason, this definition is less

acceptable. The definition of the second type seems to be

more practical and acceptable due to attention to the

characteristics of the region and the location of tall

buildings in different cities (Part Consulting Engineers,

2015).

construction

housing

became

widespread.

Technological progress would not have been possible

without scientific growth; so the first technical university

was founded in 1747 in Paris. The invention of elevators

removed the height limit of the building to 5 floors. The

first safe elevator was introduced by Elisha Otis in 1854 at

the New York Show.

Background of high-rise construction in Iran

The year 1328 AH can be considered as the beginning

of high-rise construction in Iran. Until 1949, the Afsaran

Club building can be considered as the tallest buildings in

Iran and Tehran, which consisted of four floors. Iran's first

tall building was built in Tehran at Jomhuri Street in

1949-51 with 10 floors. Then in 1950-62, Plasco buildings

were built and two years later, in 1952, 13-story

aluminum commercial building was constructed. With the

advent of the Islamic Revolution, high-rise construction

was halted for almost 10 years. During these years, the

construction of this type of building was limited to the

completion of semi-finished residential complexes. In

recent years, the trend of high-rise construction has grown

significantly in Iran (Sadoughian, 1992 ).

Basic categories related to high-rise constructions

1- Economic effects

A) The effect of tall buildings on building density and

land use

Investigating the relationship between high-rise

buildings and security

B) The cost of tall buildings construction

C) The effect of tall buildings on land use)

2- Social effects

A) Lack of harmony, proximity of cultures in high-

rise buildings

B) Lack of proximity and settlement of social, ethnic,

national and racial groups in high-rise buildings

C) Lack of compatibility of high-rise buildings with

population density and households

D) Economic and social incompatibility of

households

Vision and perspective

One of the effects of high-rise construction, which

advocates always refer to as a significant advantage, is to

provide the desired landscape from within the high-rise to

various urban landscapes. But on the other hand, these

buildings block the view and landscape of other buildings,

and this is directly related to security in public spaces.

Adding the "street eyes" element (public space

surveillance) to planning and design creates opportunities

for inconspicuous care of places where crime may occur.

People feel more secure when they are in sight or being

heard.

E) Security of buildings

R) The issue of unexpected events such as

earthquakes, winds, fires

Security

G) The identity issue

3- Climatic and environmental effects

A) Air and environmental pollution

B) The state of light and sun

Security is one of the most basic needs of a person, it

has various aspects, some of which are reflected in

architectural spaces and is a criterion for evaluating and

improving the quality of architectural space. Modern

To cite paper: Abdi F (2019). Recognition of the Impact of High-Rise Construction on The Security of Residential Areas based on Environmental Design. J. Civil Eng. Urban.,

9(6): 51-56. https://dx.doi.org/10.29252/scil.2019.jceu8

materials are more effective than traditional materials in

improving the security of life in physical, mental and

economic aspects, resulting in a healthy person, a healthy

family and a healthy society. Complete provision of

physical needs (physical health, proper housing, vehicles,

amenities, adequate income, etc.) brings comfort, and full

supply of mental needs (comfort, mental health, sense of

belonging and so on) brings peace. If there is no comfort,

there will be no security.

Building lighting (creating a sense of security(

From a designer's point of view, daylight design is

very sensitive and important because the building's façade

is the first part which creates a connection between the

building and environment, but lighting of a building at

night is more sensitive and difficult, because even a very

ordinary building can become a tourist attraction at night,

or a very beautiful building can become a horrible sight on

the night scene. Excessive lighting due to the presence of

screens creates a relative security and, more importantly, a

sense of security in passers-by, so that people are not

frightened in the last hours of the night and feel

comfortable.

and reduce the occurrence of criminal behavior in an

urban environment. In general, in a two-way interaction

with his living environment, man not only adjusts his

physics in line with the physics of the environment, but he

is also influenced in some way by his behavior in the

physical environment.

By examining the components of mental and physical

comfort that are effective in social sustainability in

residential areas, especially by emphasizing on the

impacts of high-rise buildings, we achieved the following

results which guide through reaching security in this area:



The level of public space surveillance on

planning and design creates opportunities for intangible

care in places where crime may occur.



Criteria can be developed for the application of

painting, in accordance with the performance, culture and

location of tall buildings.



In addition to proper color and facade, proper

lighting can also greatly increase the security of people

living in the neighborhood.



Spatial proportions and human scale make people

see their surroundings from a close distance and feel more

Vitality

secure when they are in space.

Diversity is one of the factors that create vitality.

Different areas have different characteristics, activities,

sizes, uses, and functions. Some places are lively and

crowded and others are quiet and remote. The sidewalks,

where no vehicles are allowed to pass, also provide a

visual-free space that fits human environmental perception

and enhances security.

Competing interests

The authors declare that there are no competing

interests.

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To cite paper: Abdi F (2019). Recognition of the Impact of High-Rise Construction on The Security of Residential Areas based on Environmental Design. J. Civil Eng. Urban.,

9(6): 51-56. https://dx.doi.org/10.29252/scil.2019.jceu8