A distributed and dynamic resource reuse method applicable to randomly deployed, possibly dense wireless networks is presented in this paper. The main objective is to protect mobile users located near the cell boundary from detrimental downlink interference originating from neighboring base stations (BSs) without compromising the system spectral efficiency. For this purpose, a novel autonomous resource assignment method that is particularly well suited for decentralized wireless networks is developed. The proposed method is designed such that the interference protection does not coincide with an intolerable reduction in the attainable spatial reuse of radio resources. System-level simulations reveal that cell-edge capacities are significantly boosted without a sharp decrease in average system throughput.