Shukla, Meha;
(2025)
Security risks of urban elements in the street ecosystem.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Streets are increasingly being redesigned with digital infrastructure, transforming traditional streets into connected places (formerly "smart cities"). However, there is limited understanding of the criminal risks these transformations may introduce. This research explores the criminogenic effects of both traditional and smart elements in urban street environments. First, to establish a baseline, a systematic review of academic literature and meta-analyses was conducted to examine the effects of traditional urban elements on physical crime. The findings suggest that urban features, such as high pedestrian and traffic flow, shape crime opportunities, with busier places being more criminogenic. Second, a review was conducted to explore the capabilities of digitally connected street infrastructure, the associated crimes, and security interventions. A systematic literature review of potential cyber-attacks on smart infrastructure in connected environments identified systemic risks (risk of a series of interconnected security events) and cascading failures (where a disruption in one infrastructure triggers a domino effect across interconnected and interdependent systems and services), posing a threat to essential national services. Third, the challenges faced by UK local authorities in building cyber-resilience in connected places were explored, revealing that existing practices were inadequate for managing systemic risks and mitigating the cascading impacts of cyber-attacks. The study highlights the need for a policy intervention and a national strategy to manage the systemic security risks of connected places. It also identifies the need for improved guidance, an assurance framework, and security governance to help local authorities procure, manage, and mitigate these risks. While the findings have broader implications beyond the UK, they provide direct insights to the UK government, city authorities, and urban planners regarding gaps in integrating security and resilience into the design of evolving street ecosystems. Additionally, the study contributes to the academic literature on crime and place and offers insights for developing anticipatory policies.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Security risks of urban elements in the street ecosystem |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| Keywords: | CPTED, Smart city, connected place, cyber risks, systemic risks, security by design, resilience, smart street, place managers, smart infrastructure security, smart city resilience, smart city security, smart EV charging, cybersecurity, environmental criminology, urban elements |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Security and Crime Science UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10206279 |
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