The unequal gender effects of the suburban built environment on perceptions of security
Description
Introduction: Studies have shown that perceived security discourages pedestrians from walking, which in turn reduces physical activities and associated health benefits. However, there is a dearth of research about what elements of the built environment contribute to perceived security among pedestrians and, in particular, how the perception varies amongst women and amongst men in suburban environments. The present study aims to address this gap in the literature. Methods: A range of scenarios (i.e. more/less diversity of land use, presence/absence of trees) were presented in an online experiment to 995 participants in Brisbane (Australia). Participants reported their perceptions of being assaulted/robbed/harassed in each scenario. Random effects ordered probit models were estimated for men and women to identify the association between perceived security and built environment factors, controlling for other confounders such as age and attitudes. Results: Women have a higher perceived risk of being assaulted/robbed/harassed compared with men in all scenarios tested in the present study. Importantly, the results indicated that while residential, commercial, and mixed land use provide a sense of security for pedestrians compared to vacant land, the effect was larger for women compared to men. There were no significant differences between vacant and recreational land use in terms of perceived security. At night, pedestrians perceived suburban environments as insecure, and the change in the level of security was higher for women than men. Also, night time security varied over different land-use types between men and women. Conclusions: The findings suggest that targeted urban design practices (e.g., functional use of vacant land, increasing diversity of land use, adequate street lights) could be used to improve perceived security and also reduce gender inequality in security perceptions. In turn, improved perceptions of security can help to increase walking as a mode of transport.
Impact and interest:
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ID Code: | 213745 | ||||||||
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Item Type: | Contribution to Journal (Journal Article) | ||||||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||||||
ORCID iD: |
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Additional Information: | Funding Information: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors thank the Queensland University of Technology and the community organisations: Queensland walk, Bi-cycle Queensland that supported the data collection. Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios’ contribution to this manuscript was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award [ DE200101079 ]. | ||||||||
Measurements or Duration: | 16 pages | ||||||||
Keywords: | Built environment, Mixed land use, Perceived security, Personal safety, Walking, Women pedestrians | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1016/j.jth.2021.101243 | ||||||||
ISSN: | 2214-1405 | ||||||||
Pure ID: | 99430966 | ||||||||
Divisions: | Current > Research Centres > Centre for Future Mobility/CARRSQ Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Engineering Current > Schools > School of Civil & Environmental Engineering Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Health Current > Schools > School of Psychology & Counselling |
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Funding Information: | This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors thank the Queensland University of Technology and the community organisations: Queensland walk, Bi-cycle Queensland that supported the data collection. Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios? contribution to this manuscript was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award [DE200101079]. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors thank the Queensland University of Technology and the community organisations: Queensland walk, Bi-cycle Queensland that supported the data collection. Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios’ contribution to this manuscript was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award [ DE200101079 ]. | ||||||||
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Copyright Owner: | © 2021 Elsevier Ltd | ||||||||
Copyright Statement: | This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au | ||||||||
Deposited On: | 07 Oct 2021 05:41 | ||||||||
Last Modified: | 28 Jul 2024 11:00 |
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