© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

Defensible Space

Jacki speaks with Oscar Newman, an architect and city planner at the institute for community design analysis in New York, about "defensible spaces." They're an approach to revitalizing inner city spaces by closing off neighborhoods with gates that, in effect, turn neighborhood streets into cul-de-sacs. Newman says defensible spaces have been tried in several cities with good results: they give residents a more personal and intimiate connection to their neighborhoods, which translates into safer and more vibrant living spaces.

Copyright 1995 NPR

Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.