Safety as a spatial quality in urban environments: a case of Bhubaneswar city

Abstract

The neighborhood unit is assumed to be the smallest unit at which social interaction and community goals can be planned and achieved by the people themselves. Beyond a personal space it is seen as an organized extension of social territoriality and a common space to uphold living standards and values. Therefore, it is also the platform where safety and crime can be addressed before the issue becomes serious and spreads to in the district. Neighborhood despite not having a physical limitation on terms of a boundary, it has different interpretations as per various users and provide with social, physical and economical aspects making them livable. With the increase in industrialization and population boom, the traditional idea of neighborhood has been dissolved and replaced with an introvert bedroom community with no social values and linkages. Due to heavy dependency on vehicular movements and presence of civic connectors inside the neighborhoods has blurred the concept of zoning and it witnesses a heavy and uncontrolled usage. These factors gradually deteriorate the quality of life and make the residents vulnerable to crime opportunities and reduce the idea of neighborhoods which originally proved to be a desirable and habitable space. Fear of crime among the users is equally responsible to hamper the image of the neighborhood as much as the presence of any crime would. The physical setting of an area can prove to be influential in imparting a sense of safety among the users or may induce fear. The research tries to probe into the relation of a physical layout and sense of safety by understanding the capabilities of the users to associate with the nearby surrounding space and exert a sense of territoriality, which will help to improve social participation and ultimately make the place safe and livable. Such morphological strengthening will allow the users to support the community themselves without any external aid or support of institutions which are again susceptible to withdrawal.