Toward a Methodology for Measuring the Security of Publicly Accessible Spaces

Németh, Jeremy; Schmidt, Stephan

doi:10.1080/01944360708977978

Cited by 59 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Furthermore, our findings provide evidence-based insights into the extent to which different users of public space interpret security policies differently (Coaffee et al, 2009). In order to mitigate the negative feelings that are associated with security measures in some people's minds, Nemeth and Schmidt (2007) suggest that urban planners and designers create a balance between personal safety in publicly accessible places and freedom of use. Based on the assumption that a higher number of people in a public space creates greater feelings of safety and security (Siegel, 1992), urban designers and planners should consider enhancing the accessibility and desirability of public places by adding amenities likely to encourage use by a wide range of people such as public restrooms, food vendors, flexible seating, sculptures, sun or nighttime lighting, and trees (Nemeth and Schmidt, 2007).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward More Inclusive Public Spaces: Learning from the Everyday Experiences of Muslim Arab Women in New York City

Johnson

Miles

2014

Environ Plan A

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In this study we examine the spatial practices and lived experiences o f an understudied subgroup, observant M uslim women o f Arab descent, to explore the extent to which they experience representation and inclusion in the context o f Brooklyn, New York. In an attem pt to provide a more in-depth understanding of space, we utilize a phenom enological approach in which gender is central. We conceptualize our analysis based on Lefebvre's spatial triad. The narratives of the women in this study elucidate how they interpret and navigate publicly accessible urban spaces as women marked by both ethnicity and religious difference in a m ulticultural city such as New York. O ur study finds that the physical accessibility o f public spaces, the aspect that planners tend to emphasize, m atters for the observant M uslim women in this study both in ways with which planners are familiar and in other ways. The m ain aspects o f physical accessibility that facilitated their sense of inclusion and engagement in Bay Ridge public spaces are the ease o f getting around, often called 'walkability' in planning circles, the extent o f access to mass transit, and the types o f destinations in the area. Streetlights and the openness o f public spaces were also critical to participants' lived experiences, as was the presence of a num ber o f women wearing the Islamic headscarf. The latter enabled participants to become active actors in space because they m arked a place as culturally, religiously, and socially appropriate for them. P articipants' lived experiences (representational space) in turn shaped and were shaped by the characteristics o f physical space. For example, well-lit open spaces enabled their spatial engagement because this made them visible to the com m unity and at the same time allowed them to see the community. F or im m igrant women the Arabic landscape o f the neighborhood marked by the Arabic signage, the Arabic language being spoken, and women wearing the Islamic headscarf provided them an opportunity to communicate with other women who share their cultural and religious values (spatial practice), and thereby to experience a safe space o f norm alcy (representational space).

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward More Inclusive Public Spaces: Learning from the Everyday Experiences of Muslim Arab Women in New York City

Johnson

Miles

2014

Environ Plan A

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“…Government-owned lands cannot always be accessed by the public, while privately owned and controlled land often appears to have public character (Voyce, 2006). Thus, locations that constitute public space vary along a continuum ranging from public to private, and can be categorised according to concepts of ownership, management and accessibility (Nemeth & Schmidt, 2007). Ray Oldenburg coined the term "third places" to describe "a generic designation for a great variety of public places that host the regular, voluntary, informal and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work" (Oldenburg, 1989, p. 16).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating sense of community: The role of public space

Francis

Giles-Corti

Wood

et al. 2012

Journal of Environmental Psychology

466

309

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“…To do so, we utilize an index that operationalizes levels of control or openness in publicly accessible space (Németh and Schmidt, 2007), as discussed earlier. The index groups spatial management techniques into 10 that encourage freedom of access, use and behavior, and 10 that actively discourage freedom of access, use or behavior (see Table 1 for a list, but see Appendices A and B for a full description).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this analysis, we rely on previous studies that have attempted to empirically quantify the design, management and use of public space. Németh and Schmidt (2007) construct an index to operationalize the management of public space. The index groups spatial management techniques into those that encourage freedom of access, use and behavior, and those which actively discourage freedom of access, use or behavior.…”

Section: Privately Owned Public Spacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of privately owned public spaces in New York City

Schmidt

Németh

Botsford³

2011

Urban Des Int

Self Cite

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New York City has actively engaged the private sector in providing publicly accessible spaces through the use of density bonuses and other mechanisms since 1961. In this article, we examine how the changing regulatory environment, promulgated by zoning reforms of the mid-1970s that advocated for increased amenity creation, has impacted the use, design and management of privately owned public space (POPS). We examine 123 POPS -47 constructed before the mid-1970s reforms, 76 built after the reforms -using an index to measure levels of control or openness in publicly accessible space. We find that compared with prereform spaces, post-reform spaces encourage use through the introduction of design features and signage, but discourage use by decreasing accessibility of the space and increasing the amount of subjective rules and regulations. We also find that the reforms had no significant impact on use or sociability. Our findings can help guide planners and policymakers in New York City and elsewhere to understand how they can not only encourage better privately owned spaces, but perhaps even mandate them.

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Toward a Methodology for Measuring the Security of Publicly Accessible Spaces

Cited by 59 publications

References 24 publications

Toward More Inclusive Public Spaces: Learning from the Everyday Experiences of Muslim Arab Women in New York City

Toward More Inclusive Public Spaces: Learning from the Everyday Experiences of Muslim Arab Women in New York City

Creating sense of community: The role of public space

The evolution of privately owned public spaces in New York City

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