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tween areas w
as correlated with environmental variables like housing conditions, demographic
stability and ethnic/social status.
Later, a geographer Davidson (1981) tried to give a full explanation for the rel
ationship between environmental variables and crime. He classified environment i
nto two categories-- physical environment and social environment. Physical envir
onment referred to the structure and design of an area. For example, parks, leis
ure grounds, street patterns, commercial complexes and centers are the basic com
ponents of the physical environment. Social environment referred to a set of con
texts which form the basis for social interaction outside the home such as schoo
l, recreation and neighborhood. Davidson's study suggested how both the social a
nd physical environment provide opportunities for delinquency.
The latest studies about physical environment and crime by Taylor and Harrell (1
996) show how physical features like housing design or block layout, land use, t
erritorial features, and physical deterioration relate to crime risk. My study w
ill attempt to define and examine the pattern of such environmental variables in
Tuen Mun, Tseung Kwan O and Kowloon City. Differences in the kinds of environme
ntal factors found in the three study areas may provide hypothetically an explan
ation for differences in juvenile crime in Hong Kong.

Rational Choice
Clarke (1983, 1993) has applied 本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供the "rational choice" perspective to a range of
crimes. His studies examined how offenders think about a crime situation and how
they choose the most "suitable" environment and opportunity to operate in or ta
rget to select. It suggests that the environmental features of a place will prob
ably affect a potential offender's perceptions about a possible crime site, thei
r evaluations of the likelihood of success and the availability and visibility o
f guardians. (Clarke, 1983, 1993, Felson, 1994, Taylor and Harrell, 1996) Theref
ore, my study will explore how juvenile offenders perceive such environmental va
riables and test whether they commit delinquency in a rational fashion.
A study by Beavon (1984, cited in Felson,1994) demonstrated this rational choice
assumption by showing that a shop located in an area with more converging stree
ts suffered more crime than those located elsewhere. Because the street junction
s and intersections made the offender feel that it was more convenient to access
, escape and hide. With this kind of example in mind, my study seeks to find out
how similar sorts of environmental features in Tuen Mun influence juvenile deli
nquents to make this type of rational choice.

Crime Prevention Through Environment Design (CPTED)
CPTED studies provide numerous detailed description and explanations of the rela
tionship between crime and place with a view to minimize crime. For example, Jan
e Jacobs(1961) found a greater tendency for crime to occur in large publicly acc
essible areas created by the newer forms of urban planning. She pointed out that
the new forms of design broke down many of the traditional controls on criminal
behavior, for example, the ability of residents to watch the street and the pre
sence of people using the street both night and day. She suggested that the lack
of "natural guardianship" in th