DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS AND CRIME EXPERIENCE IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ HALLS OF RESIDENCE

Abstract

Provision of accommodation for students is one of the primary responsibilities of the managements of Federal Government owned universities in Nigeria. The designs of these students’ halls of residence are institutional in nature, possessing certain common physical design features. The study focuses on 17 halls of residence in 4 federal universities in Southwest, Nigeria. The data collected on the physical design features (hall size, dwelling floor level, corridor length and loading) were analyzed in relation to crime experienced in the halls of residence. The findings suggest that residents in larger hall sizes experienced more crime and a significant relationship established between dwelling floor level and assault/beaten-up [λ² (6, N=618) = 17.46, p= .008] and between corridor loading and burglary/break-in [λ² (2, N=567) = 8.93, p= .012]. Hence architects and other professionals should take a critical look at these physical design features when dealing with crimes in future student housing design.

Keywords

• halls of residence
• design characteristics
• crime experience
• perception of safety
• defensible space