Improving Women’s Safety in Public Spaces

A new report from Marshalls highlights that four out of five people feel more unsafe when it’s dark in public spaces, and 86% of women think about their safety when out in public – regardless of the time of day. What more can our industry do to improve feelings of safety for all in the public realm?

Earlier this year, we surveyed over 900 people to understand their feelings about safety when it comes to public spaces. One of the key findings was that 79% of people feel more unsafe when out at night and are on average 12 times more likely to avoid such areas than in daylight hours.

Parks and gardens are considered the least safe spaces when it’s dark, with 80% of people avoiding them during this time – 40 times higher than in the daytime. Waterways, such as canals, were seen as the least safe public spaces when it’s light; 11% stated they actively avoided such places during this time, however, during dark hours, this figure increased almost seven times to 76%.

Residential streets were considered the safest of all public spaces, yet nearly a quarter (24%) said they still avoided them when it’s dark. Beaches, transport hubs and town centres were also named as places people would avoid outside of daylight hours.

We also found that some people commonly change their behaviour to improve their perceived safety when out in public. Often, people walk a longer route that is busier and/or better lit (64%), or cross the street to avoid others (58%). Other safety measures include only wearing one earphone or listening at a lower volume (32%) and carrying a personal alarm (11%).

Safety and the sexes

© Marshalls

Alongside the clear differences between perceptions of safety from day to night, another strong narrative also emerged in our research: women have heightened concerns about their safety in communal spaces. We saw that 84% of women feel more unsafe when out and about alone compared with 44% of men. On average, 31% of women think about safety ‘all the time’ and over half think about safety at least ‘some of the time’ when in public spaces. Our research also found that women under the age of 21 were the most safety conscious group.

We saw that 84% of women feel more unsafe when out and about alone compared with 44% of men.

As a design profession that is largely dominated by men, it’s important that our industry consciously considers the experiences of women, and indeed all groups, to create public areas that feel safe for everyone to use. Specific regulations are in place around safety in terms of features like path widths, the use of ramps and step heights, and these must be adhered to in the planning of any public space. But as important are factors like acoustics, paths of vision and wayfinding – all of which contribute to a feeling of safety.

There’s a plethora of design advice and regulatory guidance on the management of acoustics inside buildings, for example, but the importance of soundscape quality is less often a critical concern in public realm design. Acoustics, however, are proven to contribute to the enjoyment and sense of security within a public space, especially for less able users. Certain ambient sounds, such as bird song or human voices, for example, can help create social presence in shared spaces, often leading to an increased feeling of safety. In contrast, artificial nuisance sounds, such as loud traffic, can significantly negatively impact the perception of safety.

Interestingly, many studies also suggest that women have a heightened sensitivity to sound1, meaning the impact of such considerations are equally amplified. This is corroborated by our research, with 85% of women surveyed saying that ease of hearing was an important factor in them feeling safe when in public spaces. Likewise, many respondents said a feeling of insecurity is often intensified wherever overall sensory input – such as vision – is restricted, through poor lighting or in cramped spaces.

Acoustics are therefore also a very important consideration for people with visual impairment, who often also use sound to assist with navigation and to assess hazards.

Lessons for landscapes

What our findings demonstrate is that more could be done in the early design stages of public spaces to make people feel safe. Take transport hubs for example; there is existing guidance on how to design bus stops and train stations for inclusivity, yet they ranked as some of the places people actively avoid in the dark.

To support this process, we’ve used these research findings to develop our Creating Safer Spaces “white paper” to help embed a wider consideration of safety in early public space design. The report highlights the significant difference between how the public view spaces at different times of the day and across a range of groups, explores the reasons for the public’s heightened awareness of safety when it’s dark, and outlines a series of design pillars which supports architects, designers, planners and others in the industry to ensure safety is integrated into all public spaces.

Covering principles from vision and wayfinding, to acoustics and technology, these considerations should be used by industry to provoke fresh thinking and debate. Simple design choices such as the height of a hedge or the use of textured materials, for example, can have a big impact on whether people feel and are safe in our shared spaces.

By considering safety during the feasibility and concept stages, the principles can be seamlessly integrated and even enhance other key factors, including biodiversity and accessibility, with compelling results. As well as the effects of perceived safety at an individual level, our report explores the macro consequences of when public spaces are designed and built with safety, at all times of the day, in mind. These range from improved mental and physical health, impact on climate change and economic growth.

Designing for all

As designers, we cannot simply prescribe what is deemed ‘safe’, as this appears and feels differently to everybody. True safety is when public spaces reflect our mixed society –which comes back to the need to engage people from all demographics, backgrounds and lifestyles in the design of every type of space.

Community engagement at the early design stage is critical, with the common goal of ensuring planned public spaces work for everybody.

Download

Download Creating Safer Spaces: marshalls.co.uk/saferspaces

Johanna Elvidge

Johanna Elvidge is a landscape designer with more than 20 years’ experience working in the construction industry. As well as holding numerous design qualifications, including a Masters in Landscape Architecture from Leeds Beckett University, Johanna is a visiting lecturer to landscape architecture students, was a finalist in the SGD awards 2021 and won the Arup Cities Alive: Rethinking Green Infrastructure prize in 2020.

Reference

1. Krizman J, Skoe E, Kraus N. Sex differences in auditory subcortical function. Clin Neurophysiol.