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Well lit places ensures safety without fear of violence or assault

Well lit places ensures safety without fear of violence or assault

10-09-2013 | Kalpana Viswanath | The Times of India

A well-lit, bustling marketplace is usually safer than a dark, deserted area. The way public spaces are used plays a key role in making them more women-friendly. The same holds true for pedestrian subways.

 

There is much talk these days about women’s safety and increasing violence. Much of the debate continues to focus on incidents of violence, perceptions of fear, and poor response from the police and others. It is important to understand that creating safety involves much more than just responding to violence. It is important to create the conditions by which women (and others) are able to move about safely without fear of violence or assault. This would entail having streets that are well lit and well used, easily available and good public transport, and public spaces that promote usage in addition to a responsive police system and efficient service providers. Based on safety audits that have been done in Delhi over the past 10 years by Jagori and others, there are several general findings which can help in preparing guidelines for improving cities and public spaces to make them safer, more accessible and inclusive. Urban design and planning can play a key role in addressing these factors.

 

Broadly, two sets of factors can affect the safety of a public space. One is infrastructure, which includes lighting, the state of the pavements, how well trees are trimmed, whether there are dark corners, height of the walls, design of waiting spaces such as bus stops, etc. Adequate lighting consistently emerges as an important factor in determining the safety of a space. Thus, parks that were well lit were used more by women. Similarly, lighting in residential areas ensured more safety for women.

 

The second set of factors is the usage of the space, such as location and kind of shops (liquor stores or kirana stores), and presence of vendors, markets and diverse groups of people. We have found that the presence of regular and familiar shops and vendors can create a feeling of safety for women who use the space. A bustling marketplace can be seen as a safer space than a deserted area. Thus, public spaces that are vibrant and promote activity tend to be safer. Segregated spaces, high walls and lack of visibility all lead to greater feelings of insecurity.

 

While planning cities, it is imperative to pay attention to both these aspects — the infrastructure and the way spaces are used. Take pedestrian subways, for instance. In Delhi, these are used in varying degrees by women. Often, they are seen as
vulnerable spaces. Many women have reported not using subways even in the daytime as they are not a comfortable space to walk through. The subways that we found were better used were those that had a large number of people in it (at least at certain times) or which had shops or kiosks.

 

Subway design — such as depth and dark entrances and exits — also has an impact on feelings of safety. Many urban planners now advocate on-ground crossings rather than subways. To make the current subways more accessible and safe, it is essential to ensure bright lighting with a focus on the entrance and exit and to ensure diverse usage throughout the day.