Analyzing the Role of Fence and Gate in Securitization of Residential Complexes, Case of Study: Hamedan City Residential Complexes

In security research studies and in explanation of security concept, two points are mentioned, one introduces security as an objective concept and it is related to human’s life and property. In second approach, security means a subjective concept and it is called the sense of security. Security is related to crime and crime prevention in its objective dimension. Crime prevention is a sophisticated issue. Within last three decades any scholars (Jafari, 1971, Newman, 1973 and Brantingham and Brantingham, 1981) have found that the crime is a human behavior which can be occur by the mutual relationship between individual and environment or by people interactions. Mutual relationship between environment and human behavior in new environmental design approaches has led to this idea that environment physical and social structure can prevent crimes significantly by codification and implementation of special regulations. The term of crime prevention through environmental design, for the first time was created and expressed by CR Jeffery, a criminologist. Simultaneously, the term of defensible space was used by an architect, his name was Oskar Newman. Defensible space strategies were revised subsequently, by crime prevention through environmental design approach. Scholar’s findings about crime prevention through environmental design approach can be categorized in term of four factors as “Surveillance”, “Accesses Control”, “Territoriality”, “Maintenance”. Surveillance is three types. Natural and informal surveillance, formal and organized surveillance and mechanical surveillance. Access control is a process which is done for preventing, detecting or investigating of people who try to enter to especial environment or a building. This principle is used for reducing accessibility potential on regions which are vulnerable for crimes or for reducing commitment of crime. Access control means reducing crime commitment opportunity through some solutions such as building sentry,mechanical control as locks and natural control as appropriate defining of space through walls, fences and barriers. This research aims to investigate the security of gated residential complexes having fence and ungated ones without fence on the basis of residents’ crime experience. This research studies have been formed on the basis of four fundamental strategies of crime prevention through environmental design. It also has been focused on fence and gate as one of the indexes of access control and territoriality strategies. Studied samples have been selected by scattered sampling through Hamedan city residential complexes. Among Hamedan city residential complexes, eight complexes were selected as the cases of study by cluster sampling method. These are Saedieh, Kashani, Ahrar, Ghadimiha, Bu Ali, Imam Khomeini and Imam Reza complexes. This research has been done with two quality and quantity strategies and in first step by content analysis and in second step by survey method on the basis of questionnaire codification and distribution in studied samples. Structural equation modeling method and its related tests was used for measuring the relationship between the existence of fence and gate and studied samples security. Non-parametric -U- Mann Whitney Test was also used for specifying resultsthrough measuring significant level of security between two groups of gated and ungated  complexes. As research findings show, fence and gate as one of the access control indexes, which seemed very important and effective at first, do not have any role in securitization of Hamedan residential complexes. Investigation about access control and territoriality showed that people do not pay attention to real and symbolic barriers such as fence, hedge or green space while passing barriers is a popular issue among people’s behavioral habits. On the other hand, fences around Hamedan residential complexes, are of metal and short while passing them is simple. So, the architectural features of a physical factor and people’s behavioral habits in a region are effective on function of that physical factor. By the fading role of fence and gate in definition of territory and access control, the role of residential complex periphery context would be more highlighted in inside the complex events. Urban marginal regions do not have appropriate physical context around residential complexes. Inappropriate function of fence and gate (regarding their material and physical feature), also facilitates stranger’s entrances in to the complex in periphery urban residential complexes with inappropriate periphery context. Residential complexes which have been located in city center with periphery context, having residential or trade function, have experienced more robberies. Residential complexes and towns in urban suburb which have incompatible land uses proximity such as rehabilitation and training center and residential regions, have more experiences about some crimes as drugs, disturbances and batteries.