Urban safety as aprerequisite for reducedstress and recoveryopportunities in the city of tomorrow: Reflections beyond genderneutralplanning practices
2024 (English)In: Creating Urban and Workplace Environments to Promote Recovery and Well-being / [ed] Stephan Pauleit, Michael Kellmann, Jürgen Beckmann, New York: Routledge, 2024, 1Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [en]
This chapter aims to emphasise the pressing necessity of ensuring safety for allindividuals in public spaces. In recent years, it has been recognised that simply reducing stress factors is not sufficient for health and well-being (Kellmann etal., 2023). Instead, the aim is to achieve a balance between stress and recovery.In many cases, the main problem is underrecovery (Kellmann et al., 2023). Itis essential that the home and living environment is a place of retreat that offersthe opportunity for recovery and thus avoids underrecovery and enables stressto be balanced out through recovery. Urban living spaces must be designed withthis in mind. A very important aspect is safety, especially for women and olderadults. It is argued that achieving safety in the cities of tomorrow requires movingbeyond gender-neutral planning practices to acknowledge and address thevaried experiences and needs of all city users for housing, mobility, and recovery.Recognising the diverse experiences of individuals is important when it comesto addressing urban safety. I adopt the concepts of recovery and urban recoveryas outlined by Kallus (1995) and Kellmann (2002) as of central importance formy analysis. While recovery is a highly individual process, contingent uponpersonal evaluations of stress, resilience or urban recovery involves establishing institutional,political, and infrastructural frameworks that ensure satisfactory livingstandards and bolstering the resilience of urban systems. Recovery and resiliencehave emerged as a key concept for future urban development in times of crisisand great uncertainty.The concept of recovery involves recognising the integral role safe, inclusive,and resilient cities play in the recovery process for individuals and communitiesaffected by crime and victimisation, linking directly to the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals, in particular, SDG 11, much of which is reflected in the policy andprogrammatic work of UN-Habitat and partners, such as UNODC (2020) andUN Women (2017).This chapter explores potential scenarios for the cities of the future. Thesescenarios highlight the role of interconnected system thinking (Meadows, 2008)in enhancing urban safety. Three scenarios are presented in order to demonstratehow future cities can prioritise safety by implementing innovative design,informed policies, and community engagement strategies. Scenario 1 exploresdesign techniques that go beyond traditional, gender-neutral planning to caterfor diverse urban experiences. Scenario 2 shows how strategic policymakingcan prioritise inclusivity and safety for all city users. Finally, scenario 3 focuseson community engagement strategies, emphasising the importance of collectiveaction in creating safer urban environments. By considering these interconnectedapproaches, future cities can become havens of safety, inclusivity, andresilience. Additionally, I offer examples showcasing existing initiatives fromaround the globe based on these principles described in scenarios.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
New York: Routledge, 2024, 1.
Keywords [en]
Urban safety, recovery, stress, gender, planning practices
National Category
Social Sciences
Research subject
Urban and Regional Planning
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-357469OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-357469DiVA, id: diva2:1919210
Note
Part of ISBN 9781032564241
QC 20241210
2024-12-082024-12-082025-01-17Bibliographically approved