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Environment and Behavior
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Perceived Danger in Urban Public Space

The Impacts of Physical Features and Personal Factors

Anke Blöbaum

department of psychology at Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany

Marcel Hunecke

department of psychology at Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany

What are the most relevant factors influencing perceived danger in urban public space? To answer this question, a field experiment of students(N = 122) was carried out on a German university campus within which perceived danger was analyzed under systematic variation of lighting, prospect, and opportunities of escape. Two standardized questionnaires were used to record the following: perceived danger, avoidance behavior, trait anxiety, psychological gender, and experience as victims. The findings provide empirical support for the importance of the three physical factors and of the biological sex. The effect of opportunities to escape seems to be the strongest factor. It appears to be even more important than biological sex and psychological gender (masculinity and femininity). The results clearly show the necessity of reducing behavior constraints by redesigning fear-related physical features.

Key Words: fear of crime • physical design • biological sex • psychological gender • environmental cognition

Environment and Behavior, Vol. 37, No. 4, 465-486 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0013916504269643
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