The world will never know for sure whether any lives would have been spared had defensible space strategies been applied to Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. But the question is a nagging one, especially for criminologists, the police, and protective design experts. That's partly because their hands are already tied by other demands of practice. It treats microenvironment, such as restrooms, and macro environments, such as campuses and cities.
People then come out and provide natural surveillance.
Critics say street closings are elitist or that they create ghettos, depending on their orientation. Closings may also impede emergency vehicles. But others maintain that closings reduce crime and increase Property values. Curvilinear streets versus the more porous street grid are also hotly debated. We don't say curvilinear streets are good and a grid is bad.