The Environment’s Impact on Perceptions of Safety: An Analysis of Community Safety Walk Observations and Field Notes in Japan

• In Event: Communities and Place: Activity Space Exposures, Community Perceptions, and Crime

Abstract

The physical environment can impact perceptions of how safe people feel in their own neighborhoods. By understanding environmental factors that contribute to those feelings, city planners and policy makers can implement informed changes to improve community safety. The Kiki-Gaki map is one tool to help measure those perspectives. Dr. Yutaka Harada of Rissho University developed the app to allow community researchers to record notes and display routes taken during community safety inspection walks. This paper will share results of a content analysis of Kiki-Gaki data collected in Japan, to answer three main research questions: 1) Can the Kiki-Gaki map user notes be used to develop a metric denoting different levels of safety or well-being? And what are the most prominent descriptors used, and do descriptors used in notes vary based on the level of safety?; 2) Are there visual indicators that promote notes related to well-being? If so, what are they? 3) Are there differences in perceived levels of safety or well-being based in the specific environmental area? Findings from the study will expand the evidence base for, and increase understanding of how community members perceive their neighborhoods and communities, and the associated factors that influence those perceptions.

Authors

• Susan Nembhard, Urban Institute, Justice and Safety Division

• Yutaka Harada, Rissho University in Japan