| Title |
Gendered Perception of Night-time Walking Safety in Urban-rural Campus Town |
| Authors |
안현진(An, Hyunjin) ; 정혜영(Chung, Hyeyoung) ; 장지인(Chang, Ji-in) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2020.36.12.77 |
| Keywords |
Safe Walking; Fear of Crime; Gender Difference; Sejong City; Route to School |
| Abstract |
This study examines the night-time walking environment before and after a government-led CPTED project implemented in a urban-rural
campus town in Jochiwon-eup, Sejong City. The purpose of the study is to investigate gendered differences in perception of safety as
students walk from their off-campus housing to the university. The research methods include questionnaire surveys of university students
before and after the implementation of the CPTED project, and an analysis of streetlight illumination measurements after dark. The results are
as follows. First, survey results reveal that students’ awareness of the CPTED project as well as students’ perception of safety were low,
with twice as many female students feeling unsafe compared to male students. Second, students’ preference of the brightest lit route resulted
in more foot traffic relative to other routes. Female students showed greater preference and concentrated use relative to male students. While
male students also preferred the brightest lit route, their paths were more varied compared to female students. Third, even though
measurements of the illumination levels of streetlights were found to comply with CPTED guidelines, the failure to address blind spots, such
as dark spaces between streetlights, under tree branches, and dark winding street corners, contributed to a low sense of safety while walking
at night-time. To substantially increase sense of safety, especially among female student, brighter street lights need to be accompanied by a
comprehensive effort to eliminate blind spots and dark corners. |