Abstract:
Streets are primary elements through which the character of urban neighborhoods
are experienced and expressed. The “sense of safety” in neighborhood streets is
paramount to social and psychological wellbeing of its residents and visitors. The
intention of this study was to explore environmental and social cues of a
neighborhood, which evoke fear of crime, which will help designers to prevent the
generation of such negative feelings and promote more safe and comfortable
spaces in our cities. This study used interviews, group discussions and observations
to identify fear-generating factors with a sample of participants in the multi ethnic
neighborhood of Kotahena in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Field data was analyzed through
visual documentation and photographic surveys. Moreover, group discussions,
interviews and personal observations were used to synergize the study objectives.
The findings inform that fear of crime on streets is influenced by both
environmental and social cues to varying degrees. Feelings of fear were associated
with gender, ethnicity and less familiarity with the place as participants were from
an ethnic minority within the community. Literature has emphasized that fear of
crime has a connection to actual crime locations. The research findings, however,
indicate that fear of crime spots identified by the residents do not have a direct
relationship to the actual crime locations.
