Safety of Urban Environments

Personal safety in urban areas is an important concern as people consider whether their neighborhood is conducive to leisure activities. Such leisure activities can include walking, jogging, and bicycling as well as utilizing public recreational areas. Safety in the study of the urban environment and obesity is usually centered on physical activity, namely walking within the neighborhood.

There are certain physical and social characteristics of the urban environment that contribute to the safety and thus the walkability (i.e., the ease and convenience of walking) of the environment. Physical characteristics such as well-maintained and continuous sidewalks, accessibility of crosswalks, and traffic patterns that allow for pedestrian travel help to promote walking in neighborhoods. Similarly, social characteristics such as the perception of crime also contributes to the likelihood that people will walk within their communities.

It is important that the areas around an individual's home offer numerous safe walking routes to a variety of different locations. People who live in areas that have a diverse combination of commercial space (e.g., convenience stores and grocery stores) and green spaces (e.g., parks and gardens) among residential properties are more likely to walk within these areas.

In contrast, communities that have low-density land use areas consisting of separate residential, shopping and business areas are considered not to be conducive to walking. This type of community tends to have long distances between homes and destinations (i.e., workplaces, stores) and low street connectivity making pedestrian travel difficult and increasing the dependence on driving. By increasing the dependence on driving, there is a subsequent [Page 665]increase in the amount of cars on residential streets. This creates a more hazardous environment for pedestrians and bicyclists due to the increased probability of traffic accidents. Long block lengths and low street connectivity also means that there are fewer crosswalks for pedestrians to safely cross intersections, potentially increasing the risk of an accident among vehicles and pedestrians.

Although actual crime can be objectively measured, it may be more important to assess subjective measures of an individual's fear of crime. People are less willing to walk in their neighborhoods if they perceive threats to their physical well-being. Similarly, parents are less likely to allow their children to play outdoors if they perceive a threat to their child's safety. Criminal behavior can induce fear in several ways. Direct victimization, for example, having been the victim of a criminal offense, can create fear of a second criminal act. Indirect victimization, either through the media or personal communication, can also generate fear in people who were never actually victims of a crime.

Aside from criminal offenses, the physical and social environments also have the ability to induce fear of crime. Social incivilities are minor forms of misbehavior such as loitering, drug use, and panhandling. Physical incivilities are attributes of a neighborhood that create a feeling of disorder and may include graffiti, vandalism, or abandoned cars. Both physical and social incivilities act as warning signs to residents that they are at risk of victimization, potentially causing feelings of fear even to residents who have never been victims of crime. In an effort to deter crime and engender a feeling of safety, the design characteristics of the neighborhood can prove effective in creating a safe environment. For example, a well-lit neighborhood with homes where doors and windows look onto streets and parking areas will increase feelings of security because residents know that others can see and intervene if a crime does occur.

...