Analysis of Factors Affecting Women's Security in Urban Parks, Case Study: Azadi Park in Shiraz

Women, as half of the urban population, have more specific sensitivities than men about perceptions of crime areas. Therefore, by examining their perspectives on identifying crime potentials at the level of urban spaces, it is possible to achieve the characteristics of a safe urban space from the perspective of the totality of an urban society. Accordingly, addressing the issue of what characteristics of urban open spaces from the perspective of women make them safe or prone to crime, is the main purpose of this study. Also, among the various urban spaces, parks are of special importance as a public place for the daily presence of women, and this factor led to the selection of Shiraz Freedom Park as a case study. The research strategy in this study includes a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods and information was collected through questionnaires, interviews, observation and mental imaging. The results showed that the set of factors affecting the feeling of insecurity in women in urban parks can be classified under four physical, functional, social and perceptual-visual indicators. In these cases, following factors are very important in creating a safe space in urban parks from the perspective of women: vegetation density, the presence of sub-spaces and outcrops, territorial segregation, the presence of signs and symbols, the circadian nature of land uses, proper location of entrances and exits, the possibility of proper navigation in space, artificial care, reputation or a notoriety) a space, gender dominance in parts of the park, visual communication with different parts of the park, proper lighting at night and the brightness and clarity of the space.