The Role of Spatial Configuration in Environmental Safety Perception in the Historical Area of Yazd City

The interest in the situational approach have increased in social sciences and urban planning since 1970s to explain people’s environmental safety perception and criminal behaviour. Space syntax theory as one of the main theories within the field of the situational approach is based on the assumption that high level of accessibility makes an urban space safer from crime. According to space syntax theory, strangers’ direct interface with inhabitants results in creating a safe neighbourhood. The present article aims to investigate the way in which spatial configuration of the historical area of Yazd city influences residents’ environmental safety perception living in the area to test the assumption of the theory of space syntax. To achieve its goal, the article has taken three main steps respectively as follow: First, residents’ safety perception was evaluated by closed questionnaire and statistical tests. In the next step, the spatial configuration of the area was analyzed by space syntax theory. Finally, the role of spatial configuration in the environmental safety perception was analyzed by geographically weighted regression and multivariate regression. According to geographically weighted regression, the spatial configuration of the historical area of Yazd city explains 36% of variance in environmental safety perception in the area. In addition, multivariate regression explains 51% variance of the dependent variable. Our findings confirm the assumption of the theory of space syntax according to which safe urban spaces are the production of accessibility, integration and publicization of space.