Gendered sense of safety and coping strategies in public places: a study in Atatürk Meydanı of Izmir

Purpose>A threatened sense of safety in public spaces is a problem for liveable communities. For better public policies, this study investigates multi-dimensional and multi-scalar aspects of gendered perceived safety and strategies by women and men in daily public spaces.Design/methodology/approa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ArchNet-IJAR 2022-10, Vol.16 (3), p.554-574
Main Author: Şenol, Fatma
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Built environment
Crime prevention
Entrapment
Fear of crime
Gender differences
Lighting
Men
Perceptions
Police
Polls & surveys
Public life
Public policy
Public spaces
Regression analysis
Safety
Surveillance
Victimization
Women
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Summary:Purpose>A threatened sense of safety in public spaces is a problem for liveable communities. For better public policies, this study investigates multi-dimensional and multi-scalar aspects of gendered perceived safety and strategies by women and men in daily public spaces.Design/methodology/approach>A face-to-face survey with 40 men and 50 women in a public space (Izmir, Turkey) is deployed. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis compare participants' perceptions of and strategies for safety across the city, neighbourhood and the study site.Findings>Their experienced-based familiarities in public places increase women's perceived safety. As safety strategies, different place-based and gendered-preconditions appear for women and men going “outside” especially “alone” (i.e. unaccompanied). Reaffirming female vulnerability in public places, gendered preconditions include individuals' attributes. Of place-based preconditions, crowd and police are significant mechanisms for safety but emphasized differently by women and men. Housewives' female companionship in the study site develops a class- and gender-based claim for a safe place away from their underserved neighbourhood.Practical implications>Gendered- and place preconditions for women's safety can inform design policies about surveillance and permeability of public spaces. Lack of data about class-based differences about perceived safety is a limitation.Originality/value>Among a few, it takes perceived safety as performative acts with learned strategies across (rather than momentary perceptions in) socio-spatial spaces and provides a research framework that considers such acts with individual and spatial dimensions across multiple socio-spatial scales.
ISSN:2631-6862
1938-7806
DOI:10.1108/ARCH-08-2021-0213