Individual project Myriam

After the switch from a group assignment to an individual one I decided to stick with my location of a park. Initially I wanted to look at the places that made people happy and relaxed. I switched this to feeling safe. Being a young woman this is something I always think about and the park is no exception. About 1/5 women have been sexually assaulted in some way during their life. Me being no exception. The fact that this happens so much has created a fear within me and I know a lot of others that feel the same. A lot of the time I find myself looking at the spaces I am in, and always preparing myself for the worst.
When looking at the park I look at a few elements. Such as objects around, nature, trees, water, paths. Eventually mapping out how safe I feel based on two different element. Light and proximity to other humans.

I mapped out different elements of the park and looked at how much of an element was present, also how this moves in the space.

Here I mapped out the green area of the park, this is the biggest and most profound element in this park. With some places designed to walk on and others to be more of a scenery. The big patches of green are also enjoyed by dogs and these are very present in this park.

Here I mapped out the water, an essential element used to carve out and create natural bariers within the park. For example it cuts of the neigborhood from the park, it creats a boundry for the graveyard making it an own island inside of the park, a primary school is also seperated from the park by water making it seem to belong to the neigborhood and not to the park. Also used as boundry between places within the park, creating different spots to be. There is a big sculpture at the place that used to be the lowest point in the netherlands This is entirely surrounded by water and this is done to give it, it's justice and is accesable by two long bridges.

Together water and greenery are overpowering in this park.

After these steps I looked at the paths. Dark blue being walk and bike paths. And the orange/brown being street roads for cars as well.

Blue paths
The blue paths I myself have walked and rode my bike on for years. They are layed in such a way to get through the park as fast as possible while also being forced to go through the park. There are differences in certain paths in the park. Some are thicker than others and are meant for bikes, scooters and walkers. As some are made for just walkers. The bike paths alone offer only a few path in and out of the park. People on their bikes use the walk paths as these are faster and shorter to get through certain areas of the park. Adding more possible routes and cutting out a lot of time. There are arguments or side comments a lot in this park because of it. Especially from the walkers. These complain a lot. On walk paths they complain and they also complain on the bike paths when there are scooters or people are riding their bikes too hard for their liking. This park was designed for rest and quiet when they initially built it and therefore I understand the way the paths were built but it is more than anything a place to pass through and if it was re-designed I would make it more bike and travel friendly, adding enough space for both walkers and people on their bikes.

Orange/brown paths
These paths are actually roads for cars. They are used by cars, bikes etc. Between these roads are mainly living areas.

Prinsenpark Individual

Begraafplaats Oud kralingen.
This is a cemetery. Open during the day and closed during the night. The cemetery is not visible due to big trees all along the edges, providing privacy, surrounded by water giving it a natural border. This can sometimes be a little morbid when you are in the park and really realise that there is a cemetery right there. And it's pretty big. taking about 1/4 of all space.

Frans de Wit
BKOR archief

The square island surrounded by water is a big monumental artwork made by artist Frans de Wit. It marks the historic lowest point in the Netherlands, it lays over 7 meters under the Nap. Its an artificial island of 52 x 52 meter and it consists out of a deep concrete bowl with a diameter of 28,5 meter. This the locals call the
"schotel" (ufo) or "de kotsbak" (puke bucket). It now just has become a big thing to bike or walk past for most people that use it as another quick route.

Swimming and sport centre.

Pietjebel
This is an enclosed adventure playground. Used as a daycare but also for kids to come play. But it is at a cost.

Skatepark and enclosed football field.
The football field was added in recent years and is used a lot during warmer times. Attracting huge groups. The skatepark also has visitors a lot from different age groups. It has actually been torn down because a new one is being placed.

A outdoor gym and swing circle has been placed here a few years ago.

Daycare and toddler school Mini and Maxi

There are actually two houses/ properties here

Now I mapped the public spaces and important buildings in and close to the park.

Looking at the different elements of the park I looked at different feelings. I had been in this park hundreds of times, Going to school everyday or just hanging out. I had been here many times with friends and also alone. I was initially looking at the ways it made me feel happy but what about when I didn't feel happy? or unsafe?

During the day I feel totally safe on my own. How do I, a 23 year old woman feel in this park at night? And why?

During a long summer day I can be here till late at night. Because it stays light for such a long time. In the winter I already feel uncomfortable and maybe even scared around 5/6 because it is already really dark. This made me aware that light is a big factor for me when feeling safe. The other element of fear was being alone, unheard or to far from anyone else if I would need the help. Adding the second big factor to my fear in this park. The distance from people that could maybe help when needed. So I explored these two elements and marked my fear levels within these.

I added the paths and the black outlined boxes. The boxes are houses. The boxes with stripes are flats or appartment-buildings. This is the element of humans. Spaces where other humans that could potentially help me if I needed it. This gives a sense of safety. The idea that you could run to a house where people would hear you if you screamed and they could interfere if something were to happen.

Here I mapped my level of fear in a certain place in the park, relating to the element of humans. The distance from other people.

Yellow= Here I still feel anxious as night but not unsafe because I am close to houses and could run for help at a short distance if needed.

Blue and stripes= This area seems safe at first hand but for some reason feels unsafe because it is a appartment complex and I have the feeling people wouldn't hear me or be able to get to me as fast because of having to come downstairs maybe a few floors.

Blue= this feels scary because you would have to scream really loud for someone to hear you and you are not that close to any houses or people.

Dark blue= Really scared because here no one outside of the park would be able to hear you if you got in trouble. And even at the slight change they did. They would not be in time.

The fear of islation

being at a distance from other human beings living in the area.

I roughly dotted the places where there are lanterns and sources of light.I surrounded these by yellow marker to show light. These lanterns light up the bigger paths I talked about earlier( the paths that are larger and allow bikes, scooters and walkers) but not the walking paths, these are not lit. The grasfields are also not lit, creating patches of complete darkness at night or when it goes dark. Causing a walking path to become dark and terrifying at night.

Here I mapped the spots I find scary according to the absence of light. Using the color blue.
These spots are terrifying because they dont have light. And can sometimes be pitch black.

Fear of dark and isolation

Now looking at the scariest places in the park for me. This would definitely be a combination of the two. A place where there is no light and where I am the furthest away from being heard, eventually helped or where I would have a chance to get away. The red spaces are spaces that feel or are the most isolating because of their distance and are the scariest because they also dont have any lighting. These would definitely be the worst places to walk for me and where my mind would go wild. You cant see and on top of that if something were to happen no one would hear, even if they would hear you they cant see you. So they cant find you. With the boxes with the black box inside being the worst as that it is also the furthest away from houses.

After looking into my own fears and mapping these out I did research into already excisting researches about light and safety for women at night. After this research I was still curious and developed my own questions and put these in a survey. Making the questions in such a way to help pinpoint what the biggest fears and problems are, and then knowing what to fix or change.

1. Spatial factors examine how the room/place is experienced without daylight, how good the general view can be, and how well one can orient oneself.
2. Social factors deal with the extent to which the room/place is populated. Are there people who see and hear? Is it possible to read people’s faces?
3. Identity-creating factors are about the character of the site. What kind of feelings arise in the dark?

Never felt safe walking in this area, even if I am not alone. The lighting is terrible and the design of the walkways leaves a lot of spots hidden from view. (Female, age 19)
This area feels so dodgy. The light level means you can’t see who is approaching you. (Female, age 39)

More lighting alone does not create safer cities. Look at what research with young women tells us

The majority of women don’t feel safe walking alone at night. Considering the amount of sexual harassment and violence against women this is not a surprise. While navigating through the city they make their own way of mapping out spaces that are safe or unsafe to walk through. Why is protecting women and shaping cities in a way that is safe not the norm?

There should be looked deeper into how to solve this problem apart from just adding the usual reactions (light, camera’s, police). What is really happening and what is the core of the problem. How do we create safer cities for women? How about including women in the process.

“I pass through here twice a day to get to work and am routinely verbally abused by men. I feel unsafe and would never go through here at night. I wish the police or government would listen to women’s stories and do something about this place. (Female, age 25)”- (
How does lighting play into the sense of safety for women? In Melbourne 80 of the most unsafe spaces chosen by women were surprisingly luminated. Questioning how big the role of light actually plays in perception of safety.
Places are lighted to something called a P Category. A measure of lighting. Because more light is assumer to reduce crime and increase safety. Safe places had half the light of unsafe places. This seems very strange when looking at the following statements;
“Never felt safe walking in this area, even if I am not alone. The lighting is terrible and the design of the walkways leaves a lot of spots hidden from view. (Female, age 19)”
“This area feels so dodgy. The light level means you can’t see who is approaching you. (Female, age 39)”
Both women mention lighting being a factor. But there is also mention of hidden spots. Should the architecture or designing of the actual spaces be re- evaluated and looked at in terms of overview and safety.

Light
Consistent and spread out light is preferred. This allows a clear view over the space and gives an overview. A sharp drop-off of light beyond a path are places to avoid. Because you can only see the path and not beyond. Someone could be watching you in the spaces they cant see beyond the path. Also going from darkness to light can cause disorientation and problems with view. This can make a woman vulnerable.
According to ARUP’s research spaces with warmer lights are considered safer.

What feelings arise in the dark?
Scared of being sexually assaulted
Scared of being robbed
Scared of being harmed
Scared of all the above

It is important to look at what people are feeling and experiencing and what makes them feel this way.

Only 5 of 107 women had answered no.

What would you do if there were no men on earth for 24 hours? The majority of women answered: "Going for a walk". I want to look more into what our experience as women alone at night is like. Specifically in a park. My questions are under the following circumstances: It is night and you are alone.

Feeling unsafe alone at night

Only one person feels safe and fine and the remaining 106 have a fear. The fear of being sexually assaulted being the highest. With fear of being harrased coming in second place.

The majority would feel more comfortable with seeing the surroundings as well as the path.

Here we can see that the majority finds the presence of a man the most uncomfortable even with there being great lighting. This man is not doing anything, he is just standing in the path and even that made 50 % more uncomfortable. A close second was not seeing what lies ahead, this was very unsettling to a big part of the group. Because you have no idea of what is there many women stated.

I wanted to really see if the presence of a man and fear of men was the main problem. And thats why I put this dillema in a question. Complete darkness but knowing you will not be assualted by a man or having lighting but a few men in this park. The majority chose light and men. But a shocking 43,9 percent chose for complete darkness with no men, showing that simply having a man present in a park makes women feel uncomfortable.

Light doesn't mean that you feel safe atleast for the majority it doesn't.

The fact that 72 percent felt releaved that a person was a woman shows how there is a big fear of males.

Almost everyone changes routes because they are avoiding spaces they find uncomfortable/scary. The majority does sometimes and 30 percent does all the time.

It really is such a big element of life, navigating and traveling. to work, school, family, stores, doctor, etc.
And there should be more attention to how people navigate and if people are actively avoiding spaces, why and what can be done? public spaces should feel safe and comfortable for everyone

93 percent, a big majority. Would rather travel twice as long and feel comfortable. The picture is scary but when you really look its just the lighting that is unsettling. This just goes to show what people will sacrafice to feel comfortable. Feeling comfortable and safe is an instinct that many value and than influences the way we live and make choices. Such as taking the park that makes you feel less scared, just in case.

- I find myself mentally preparing for a potential assault

-I prepare myself for a potential assault by walking with my keys or other objects in my hand for if I have to defend myself

-I find myself scanning my surroundings for potential danger

-I am aware of my surroundings but I dont feel uncomfortable

You could tick more than one box for this question.

43 women find themselves preparing for a potential assault, 62 take it a step further and are not only mentally preparing for an assault but they are preparing by holding objects to be used as weapons if needed. This is so sad and shocking to see. But I can relate as I too have done this many times. The box that was chosen the most was scanning for potential danger. Something that is instinctive but also cost energy.

What would you need to feel safe?

More light is definitely is a key factor for feeling more safe when walking outside, but another important factor is the ability to escape. Narrow / long streets with no side exits are terrifying.
More light
More light
more people
more people in the park
More lights at both sides of a road
Camera’s and lighting would make me feel more comfortable
Niet alleen over straat gaan
more people in the park
Camera’s
I’m not easyly scared but more lights would help a lot in same places and so would camera’s
More light, cameras, other people around, but the change in the society is the thing we actually
need, we’re not supposed to feel scared in the first place and that has to do with men still getting away with sexual assaults etc. as this brings a message that if you do this, there is a great chance you wont get penalty for mistreatment of women. Its sad.
More light. Curfew for man and a wapon
Camera
More lights, camera’s
Lights and cameras.
more people
Both
Een alarmknop
Having someone else with me, or at least talking with someone on the phone
Lights, security cameras(that work and the police will actually watch when something happens) more patrols in sketchy areas.
Meer licht inderdaad en misschien iets waar jij jezelf mee mag verdedigen.
More light in dark places, like some streets, parks, alleys, parking lots etc
Pepperspray or walking with someone would help me feel more safe. More light could help as well, however, not in all circumstances or places. A camera would be good, however I wouldn’t feel more safe because I probably wouldn’t be aware of the fact that there is a camera. Also, people could hide their faces with a mask in order not to be recognizable by the camera.
More light and cameras.
more Light, more camera's, more surveillance, more Police, more open spaces with more nice People.
Nothing
More lights
Ik denk zelfs dat lichten en camera’s goed kunnen zijn. Toch denk ik dat het nooit 100% het gevoel van angst zal weghalen. Ik denk dat borden die aangeven dat er cameratoezicht is, daders kunnen afschrikken.
l
- More people who I know around me.
- Better traffic lights
More lights for sure
More light, camera's, police in the park
More light, camera's and more people on the streets
More light, cameras more police at night
Meer licht, camera’s of net als wat ze in de straten van Korea hebben; alarm knoppen, dan wordt er geconnect met mensen uit de buurt en politie etc. (Is denk ik alleen niet echt mogelijk in nl?)
Idk
More lights
more light
More light, camera’s and controle
I need people to be more behaved, especially men.
No men xx
Camera’s, more light
I think more light and maybe camera’s too.
People need to change
Meer politie, of handhavers
No men.
More police control, such as camera’s. And indeed muuuuch more light! Personally, I think every girl should be able to follow some part of self defence trainings. I did that too and feel a lot more comfortable.
More lights an more camera’s
more light!
More light and good overview of the path
Police officers walking around that would actually so something to help us instead of blaming the victims
Camera’s and more police or any type of enforcement nearby
Im not scared but i will not walk around late when it’s not needed..
more lights and maybe someone like a guard in the park
No men
Beiden zouden fijn zijn...
More lights, camera's
Cameras
Camera’s
not being alone
Camera’s or security (in big city’s), and more lights
More light, camera's and police on the street
Camera's and light

-No men
-More light
-Camera's
-Company
-Police patrols

Some interesting statements

"More light is definitely a key factor for feeling more safe when walking outside, but another important factor is the ability to escape. Narrow / long streets with no side exits are terrifying."

"More light, cameras, other people around, but the change in the society is the thing we actually
need, we’re not supposed to feel scared in the first place and that has to do with men still getting away with sexual assaults etc. as this brings a message that if you do this, there is a great chance you wont get penalty for mistreatment of women. Its sad."

"More light. Curfew for man and a weapon"

"Lights, security cameras(that work and the police will actually watch when something happens) more patrols in sketchy areas."

"More light could help as well, however, not in all circumstances or places. A camera would be good, however I wouldn’t feel more safe because I probably wouldn’t be aware of the fact that there is a camera. Also, people could hide their faces with a mask in order not to be recognizable by the camera"

The results of the survey show that women are putting a lot of energy into walking the streets at night.

There are signs of a big element being men.

Female parking spaces for safety
(https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6195781/Women-parking-space-looks-sexist-theres-good-reason-but.html)

Women only park
(https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/440884/Fifth-women-s-park-opens-in-Tehran)

(https://apolitical.co/en/solution_article/how-a-women-only-park-became-a-safe-space-from-harassment)

Robo chaperone

There are plenty of women only parks and they are succesfull. But I find that excluding an entire gender is not solving the problem. Men should change their behaviour. There should be heavy measurements in place for harrasement of any kind. Everyone should feel safe and comfortable.

Thats why there should be a hard and swift reaction to harrassment. A robot chaperone to walk you through the park. They can be a companion for conversation or just for company and feeling safe.

Untill things have changed and the amount of harrasment and sexual assault has gone down a huge amount there is just need of force and real actual protection.

As research shows, light doesn't mean safety or feeling safe for a fact. The truth is that even though a space is lit there is always that lingering thought and fear of a man attacking and assaulting you. It just has happend, and happens too much to not worry about it.

They are able to
-Take pictures of harrasers
-Defend you
-Hold a harraser
-Call the police

These robot chaperone's would be available to anyone of any gender feeling unsafe. But because of my personal feelings and experiences they were "invented" because of the big fear women have. That's all I can speak on as my research was based as my own experience as a woman, and other women.

The location and space itself also needs to be redesigned. There should be more people and more life morning till night. By placing a cafe, restaurant and bar this offers that. People enjoy having a place to go and drink, eat and socialize. Placing this location in the middle of the park offers a view of the surroundings making it an interesting fun place to go to. You get your green view and also people to look at. Like the outside gym, playground and skatepark. People love to be where other people are. And perhaps more people leads to more eyes and more safety. The building itself is draped by the grass and sinks into the landscape of the park. The roof may be used by anyone and hereby the building is really part of this park. dropping into the bottom about a meter. Allowing for visitors all year round. Protected inside from the elements on a cold winter day, and offering terraces on a hot summer day. Quick and easy to get some food and drinks during the day when spending time in the park( also toilet). Normally you would have to walk 10/15 minutes to the nearest supermarket or toilet. Allowing people to spend longer amounts of time in the park, being a real addition to the park. Not only adding people to the park which makes a more safe feeling but also adding a location to run to when in trouble, eliminating a big portion of the islolated space in the park.