Perception of spatial safety in residual urban spaces: a case study of Dehiwala Mount Lavinia flyover

Abstract

The spaces that remain in the cities under flyovers are usually overlooked in the expanding cities and, in most cases, are places of informality, former marginalization, and increased feelings of insecurity. To learn how physical qualities (lighting, visibility, form) and social activities (parking, vending, loitering, temporary shelter) affect ideas of safety and allocation of urban resources, this paper studies the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia flyover in Colombo. Based on a mixed-method design, including field observations, photographic records, and a 20-responder pre-post-perception survey, the study under consideration reveals weak perceptions of daytime safety and significantly negative ones at night. The areas of preference, in terms of improvements, include cleanliness, lighting, vegetation, and seating. A small-scale post-design experiment means that specific environmental and lighting manipulations can help to increase perceived safety, although spatial justice transformations need redistributive and policy-level reaction. The paper ends by offering design and management recommendations in order to transform under-flyover spaces into safe, accessible, equitable urban commons of a new imagination.