In this chapter, we examine the third of our three key elements of risky places, namely risky paths and risky journeys, and explore this by considering the concept of street networks. Paths may be short distances and highly localized or connect places further apart. Routes traveled by individuals and groups may be short or extensive and consist of single or even multiple trips. Users may travel using a range of transport modes, for example, on foot, via bicycle, public transport, or other for-hire or private vehicles. For offenders and victims to be present in a risky place, they will have either traveled there from somewhere else or lived or worked there. However, risky places are generally not made risky by their residential population alone. What is often missing from our understanding of risky places is an understanding of the paths taken to reach these places. From a systems thinking perspective, we may ask what the purpose of these trips is and how they connect the different elements of a wider system together. This chapter reviews what is known about risky pathways and how we can reframe our ideas of traditional risky paths within a systems thinking approach.
Part of ISBN 9781003281030
QC 20241107