Perception of Personal Safety in Urban Recreation Sites

Schroeder, Herbert W.; Anderson, Linda M.

doi:10.1080/00222216.1984.11969584

Cited by 195 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…56 Studies have demonstrated that litter can reduce perceptions of safety. 57 Perceived safety contributes to increased physical activity in neighborhoods and parks. 7,37 Therefore, park maintenance routines that keep parks clean and operational could increase park use and physical activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disparities in Built and Natural Features of Urban Parks: Comparisons by Neighborhood Level Race/Ethnicity and Income

Bruton

Floyd

2014

J Urban Health

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Known associations between the built environment and health outcomes have accelerated research examining racial/ethnic and income disparities in access to parks and other community features that support physical activity. Currently, it cannot be concluded that park characteristics are equal in quantity or condition across areas of disparate race/ethnicity and income composition. This study examined natural and built park characteristics across areas of different race/ethnicity and income composition to identify potential disparities. Twenty-one parks in Greensboro, NC (USA), located in minority or non-minority areas and in low or medium-high income areas were inventoried using a park audit tool and GIS. Parks were compared on number of activity areas, features, amenities, size, percent tree canopy, cleanliness, and condition. Independent sample t tests and Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare means of outcome variables. Fisher's exact tests were applied for categorical variables. Fewer wooded areas and more trash cans were found in low-income and minority areas as compared to medium-high income and non-minority areas. Low-income areas were found to have more picnic areas than their counterparts. Sitting and resting features in non-minority areas were found to be cleaner than those in minority areas. Results showed some evidence of disparities in park characteristics. Findings can inform park policy and design as well as renovations and maintenance procedures, particularly in specific areas where existing disparities were identified.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disparities in Built and Natural Features of Urban Parks: Comparisons by Neighborhood Level Race/Ethnicity and Income

Bruton

Floyd

2014

J Urban Health

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“…Features associated with insecurity were densely forested areas, graffiti, and buildings that appeared vacant. 111 Finally, the context of urban green space may be important in determining the impact on safety perceptions. For example, in a study of over 80,000 people in the Netherlands, urban green space was associated with increased feelings of safety, except in the most dense urban areas.…”

Section: Urban Greening and Public Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature-Based Strategies for Improving Urban Health and Safety

2015

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Place-based programs are being noticed as key opportunities to prevent disease and promote public health and safety for populations at-large. As one key type of place-based intervention, nature-based and green space strategies can play an especially large role in improving health and safety for dwellers in urban environments such as US legacy cities that lack nature and greenery. In this paper, we describe the current understanding of place-based influences on public health and safety. We focus on nonchemical environmental factors, many of which are related to urban abandonment and blight. We then review findings from studies of nature-based interventions regarding impacts on health, perceptions of safety, and crime. Based on our findings, we suggest that further research in this area will require (1) refined measures of green space, nature, and health and safety for cities, (2) interdisciplinary science and cross-sector policy collaboration, (3) observational studies as well as randomized controlled experiments and natural experiments using appropriate spatial counterfactuals and mixed methods, and (4) return-on-investment calculations of potential economic, social, and health costs and benefits of urban greening initiatives. KEYWORDS Urban nature, Green space, Place-based interventions, Public health, CrimeThere is growing support of place-based programs to help prevent disease and promote public health and safety. [1][2][3][4][5] This movement is largely motivated by increasing findings that public health interventions targeted at individuals or behaviors have limited effect on health and safety outcomes at a population scale. 6 For example, educational programs that promote behavioral change among very specific, targeted population groups may not impact broader societal issues such as the actual contexts within which unhealthy behaviors like tobacco use, lack of exercise, poor diet, distracted driving, and violence occur. 7-9 Moreover, programmatic impact is rarely sustained beyond the small study populations that are targeted. When funding ends, program impact thus also often ends unless, in very rare instances, the program itself somehow becomes institutionalized or part of a larger social norm.Place-based programs rest on increasing evidence that in addition to biological and individual attributes, everyday environments have a potentially strong and Kondo is with the USDA-Forest Service, Northern Research Station,

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“…In the Lincoln Park study, this issue was of particular importance to White park users, who were more than twice as likely to feel unsafe in the park than the other groups surveyed. Brighter lighting, increased police and citizen patrols, effective vegetation management to increase sight lines, and promoting activity in sparsely used areas are some important ways that personal safety can be increased in urban park settings (e.g., Loewen, Steel, & Suedfeld, 1993;Schroeder & Anderson, 1985).…”

Section: Participation and Preferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%