Women’s safety perception assessment in an urban stream corridor: developing a safety map based on qualitative GIS
Author
Garcia, Xavier
Martinez, Javier
Pfeffer, Karin
Publication date
2020ISSN
0169-2046
Abstract
Perceived safety influences women’s use of green environments (GE) for physical activity with considerable implications on health. In order to address gender inequality in GE use, the effects of physical and social environmental factors on women’s perception of safety must be assessed. To achieve this, a pilot study designed and implemented a safety map based on a qualitative Geographic Information System (qGIS) methodology, in an urban stream corridor of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona. Fourteen in-depth interviews with women users of the stream corridor were conducted to identify influencing environmental factors (i.e., lighting, vegetation density, visibility, and presence of streets, residential areas, industrial areas, parking areas, green areas, abandoned areas and discotheques, for the physical; and presence of truck drivers and vandals, and user density, for the social). These factors were translated into four spatial indicators (visibility, vegetation density, lighting, and land use) to allow for generation of safety index values. The safety map combined the safety index values with individual perceptions. The integration of qualitative and quantitative methods served to compare and contrast micro-scale individual perceptions with general perceptions of safety at the GE macro-scale. The safety map pointed out the importance of providing “eyes on the GE” and provided a nuanced understanding of how perceptions are mediated by women’s background (patriarchal vision of public space, criminal stereotypes and vulnerability of women) and everyday practices (recurrent use of GE). The map identified the areas that merit decision-makers’ attention to develop strategies for reverting gender inequality in GE use.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
72 - Architecture
Keywords
Arquitectura
Architecture
Pages
Desconocido
Publisher
Elsevier
Collection
198
Is part of
Landscape and Urban Planning
Citation
Gargiulo, Irene; Garcia, Xavier; Benages-Albert, Marta [et al.]. Women’s safety perception assessment in an urban stream corridor: developing a safety map based on qualitative GIS. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2020, 198, 103779. Disponible en: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169204619308394>. Fecha de acceso: 24 abr. 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103779
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Arquitectura [36]
Rights
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.