Determination of Landscape Design Criteria in Reducing Vandalism

The purpose of this study is to set out the landscape design criterias that must be taken into consideration for reduction of vandalism in public places such as parks, streets, urban squares. In this study, vandalism types, causes, dimensions, effects on urban life are examined and vandalism-landscape design relation is established. It is emphasized that what design criteria can be developed and suggestions can be proposed in order to reduce or even prevent vandalism. Vandalism is a serious problem that causes sociological, psychological and economic consequences and occurs due to various factors such as social factors, socio-psychological factors and spatial characteristics. Factors such as lack of education, lack of sense of belonging to the place, density of population, inadequacy of enlightenment within the city and intensive public use are among the reasons of vandalism. Writing on the walls, digging, burning, breaking city furnitures, ripping off and breaking the plants in the parks and gardens, demaging plants of refuges etc. are some of the most common examples of vandalism. These harms prevent people from meeting their recreational needs. It is sometimes not possible to make the structural and plant materials reusable, and at times it brings high repair costs. Vandalism causes accidents and other crimes as well as demaging the structural materials and plant materials and brings visual pollution in terms of urban aesthetics. In Turkey, vandalism has a negative effect on the country's economy as well as harm to the city and the environment, especially local governments are also affected by this situation. Vandalism can be reduced by considering a number of design criteria such as while designing in pedestrian paths and parks which used intensively, taking into consideration the situations in which people freely use that space, selecting plant species that develop in such a way as not to prevent pedestrian crossing in roads, preferring the materials that are resistant to wear and breakage, bringing lighting level to optimum conditions etc