Evaluating Correctional Environments: A Critical Psychosociospatial Approach

Abstract

On June 6, 2015, Kalief Browder, a 22-year-old Bronx, NY native, hung himself as the result of the mental and physical abuse that he endured over a three-year period at Rikers Island. Although his suicide was committed 2 years after his release (without conviction), the fact that his earliest attempts began while incarcerated—as well as the fact that he developed severe depression while in Rikers—elucidated the onset of severe psychosocial issues that many inmates experience while behind bars. From legal scholars to environmental psychologists to architects, experts in a variety of fields have begun to examine the multifaceted aspects of our penal institutions and facilities, uncovering the flaws that permeate this complex system, and recently the conversation has begun to focus more on the design of the correctional facilities themselves. The purpose of this chapter will be to critically explore and problematize the various sociospatial factors that generate psychological and physical trauma within correctional institutions and to propose some of the most viable evaluative methodologies for identifying the flawed spatial and aesthetic qualities of custodial environments. Techniques for the critical psychosociospatial evaluation of these environments will be explored, primarily with consideration of an enhanced post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methodology.