The aims of this article are to assess the quality of the indoor living environment of a senior housing (rental apartments for older adults aged 65+) in Hasselgarden, Stockholm Municipality (Sweden's capital), in 2014, in relation to their mobility, and to suggest improvement strategies. First, the physical indoor environment of older adults is examined via a fieldwork checklist devised in accordance with the principles of universal design (UD). Second, their indoor environment is assessed through a survey that includes subjective questions about seniors' use of space, experience of falls, and safety perception. Third, the study explores whether the applications of UD in the seniors' indoor living environment contribute to the understanding of their use of space, experience of falls, and safety perception. Fieldwork inspections and a detailed survey with residents are used as a basis for the empirical analysis. Overall, 27 out of 56 questionnaires were collected, and ten apartments have been visited in the fieldwork. Findings indicate that the living room has the highest UD score compared with those for the kitchen and the bedroom. The older adults spend most of their time in the living room and the kitchen. A low UD score (e.g. kitchen and bedroom) is associated with a higher number of falls but not with low levels of safety perception and use of space. The article concludes with suggestions to improve housing safety of Hasselgarden's senior housing, which may also help prevent falls in the older population elsewhere.

The aims of this article are to assess the safety quality of the indoor living environment of senior housing in Hässelgården, Stockholm Municipality (Sweden’s capital), and to suggest improvement strategies. First, the physical indoor environment of older adults is examined via a fieldwork checklist devised in accordance with the principles of universal design (UD). Second, their indoor environment is assessed through a survey that includes subjective questions about seniors’ use of space, experience of falls, and safety perception. Third, the study explores whether the applications of UD in the seniors’ indoor living environment contribute to the understanding of their use of space, experience of falls, and safety perception. Fieldwork inspections and a detailed survey with residents are used as a basis for the empirical analysis. Findings indicate that the living room has the highest UD score compared with those for the kitchen and the bedroom. The elderly spend most of their time in the living room and the kitchen. A low UD score (e.g. kitchen and bedroom) is associated with a higher number of falls but not with low levels of safety perception and use of space. The article concludes with suggestions to improve housing safety of Hässelgården’s senior housing, which may also help prevent falls in the older population elsewhere.

The study assesses exploratory the geography of the elderly fall in Sweden in relation to the ecology of the socio-demographic characteristics of the Swedes older population. Kendall Test is used to measure the association between elderly fall rates and demographic, socio-economic characteristics of the population, costs of elderly care and accessibility measures at county level. Results show a number of significant associations: high rates of the elderly fall are associated with high cost of the elderly care but also low rate of elderly fall and good accessibility to basic services (e.g., grocery store, health care and cash machines). The articles finalizes with reflections of the results and suggestions for future research.

Drawing upon environmental criminology principles and fear of crime literature, this article investigates the types of outdoor places where most crimes against the elderly happen as well as the types of places most feared by them. The study employs an analysis of secondary data, crime mapping, fieldwork, and interviews with residents in a senior housing area in Stockholm, Sweden. Results show that most crime victims were exposed to theft, and all incidents took place in the environment close to the senior housing. Elderly perceived safety follows a “distance decay” from the residence, the safest places being the areas immediately outside the entrance of the senior housing, while the least safe are the deserted areas close to the petrol station. Findings also show that for those who are fairly mobile, the fact that they avoid some places does not necessarily mean their mobility is restricted, as previously expected, but it makes them walk farther.

This study assesses the nature and the geography of elderly injuries in Sweden. The most dominant types of accidents affecting the elderly in their homes and near environments are identified by using county-specific data from 2001 to 2010 followed by a correlation analysis of possible environmental factors underlying patterns of falls among the elderly. Geographical information systems are used to map rates by type. Slipping, tripping and stumbling are the causes of more than half of cases of elderly falls in Sweden, and is more typical in the Northern counties. Findings also show there has been a rise in rates of elderly falls since 2001 in most of the Southern counties, especially in Östergötland and Skåne Counties. Population age and gender affect the ecology of geography of fall rates and counties experiencing long cold winters tend to show higher rates of indoor falls than those with warmer temperature across the year. The article finalizes with a discussion of the results and implication for future research.

The aim of this article is to report on the security conditions in underground stations and surrounding areas in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The study is based on a comprehensive fieldwork combined with Geographical Information Systems techniques and regression models. Findings show that a relatively small share of reported events is crime; acts of public disorder are more common at the stations. Events tend to happen in the evenings - nights, holidays and weekends - and, at least for theft, in the hotter months of the year. Although the highest number of events is found in the central station, the so-called 'end-stations' show often higher rates than those located in the inner city. Results show that opportunities for crime are dependent on stations' environmental attributes, type of neighbourhood in which they are located and city context. These findings lend weight to principles of traditional urban criminology theory such as routine activity and social disorganisation. The article concludes with directions for future research and suggestions for policy.

The aim of this study is to assess safety conditions in underground stations and surrounding areaswhere individual trips take place. The study is based on four independent sources: Police crime data,Veolia’s database, SL’s database and Stockholm Safety Survey. Spatial data analysis in GIS underpinthe methodology employed combined with detailed fieldwork at the underground stations. Findingsshow that a relatively small share of reported events are crime, most events are public disorder anddisturbance. Clear temporal and spatial variations of both crime and events of public disorder werefound. Events tend to happen more often in the evenings-nights, during holidays and weekends and,at least for violence, in the cold months of the year. Despite the fact that underground stations andtheir surrounding areas are criminogenic places (around 60 per cent of all reported offences to thePolice in Stockholm city takes place up to 500 meters from an underground station in 30 per cent ofits area), people declare to feel relatively safe there. They are more concerned about safety on theway from/to these transport nodes. T-Centralen might concentrate the highest number of events inStockholm but it does not keep its top position after events are standardized by daily passengersflow. The so-called “end-stations” often show higher rates of events (crime and public disorder) thanstations located in the inner city areas (exceptions are Medborgaplasten, Skanstull and T-centralenfor thefts, for instance). Hjulsta, Farsta Strand and Hagsätra show high rates regardless crime type.Some of these stations are also perceived as unsafe. The environment of underground stationsfollows some common standards (e.g., illumination, gates, real time train arrival time tables, andplatform/lounge structures) but they are far from being homogenous. Differences in the environmentof underground stations and their contexts have an impact on the stations’ vulnerability to crime andperceived safety. Evidence shows that features that indicate barriers to formal and informal socialcontrol are related to higher rates of offences, such as few people in the station, objects hinderingvisibility/surveillance, corner, hiding places. Good illumination, less presence of physical and socialdisturbance is often related to lower rates of crime and events. The context of these stations is alsoimportant to the stations’ vulnerability. Stations are often more targeted by crime and disorder whenthey are located in more peripheral neighbourhoods with higher housing instability and populationdensity and fewer police stations. Factors behind crime and disorder at the station are not alwaysrelevant to explain perceived safety. Stations perceived as unsafe are often associated with visiblesocial disturbance, with low potential for surveillance, where violence and events of public disorderare common and visible. Although crime is an important component of safety, property crimes, suchas theft, do not seem to play a role in explaining perceived safety. Unsafe stations are often located inneighbourhoods with social problems and high housing mobility. On the other hand, safe stationsare characterized by an effective formal social control in place, they are often smaller (fewer numberof platforms and exits), exhibit high potential for natural surveillance and are not necessarilycentrally located. This study finalises making suggestions for safety improvements taking intoaccount different types of crimes, their variation over time and space and the perception of safety bydifferent groups. Finally, it also highlights areas in need of further research, among other things, theneed of better knowledge on how to implement safety measures with a whole journey approach,taking into account the specificities of stations environments and needs of different groups ofpassengers.