While the Nordics have long acted as champions of gender equality, there is still a need for a more nuanced understanding of gendered differences in safety and well-being. A large body of research on masculinity and fear have found men to express fear in public space to a lesser extent than women, perpetuating a notion of men as ‘fearless’. In this study, we challenge this notion by seeking a better understanding of men’s overall fear of victimization as well as how fear impacts their behavior where they live, in relation to places, people, and everyday routines. Using statistical methods; chi-square analysis and binary logistic regression, we investigate the nature of men’s fear and the effect fear has on their lives using 20 781 answers from the 2020 Stockholm Safety Survey. Findings indicate that while men are generally less fearful than women, intersections between respondents’ gender, income level, and ethnic background show a complementary picture. Foreign-born and low-income resident men expressed similar or even higher levels of neighborhood fear than women. Additionally, the drivers of men’s general fear of crime and neighborhood-related fear were found to differ, where results for Swedish-born respectively foreign-born men show opposing patterns for each measure. Men who live in neighborhoods with more physical disorder and low social cohesion are also more likely to avoidplaces and engagement with people where they live, as well as changing routine activities. The paper finishes with recommendations for future research.

The safety perception of the built environment, rather than the sheer number of crimes and incivility behavior, is a fundamental driver of public policies intended to improve urban safety. Traditional surveys often capture neighborhood residents’ perceived safety, but may not fully reflect the perceptions of people who are unfamiliar with the area. In this study, focused on the city of Stockholm, Sweden, we develop a geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) approach using street view images and recruiting locals to create a measure of citywide residents’ safety perceptions. We compare the measures from the survey based on neighborhood residents’ responses with those from the GeoAI approach to better understand the relationship between these safety measures. We model the two forms of safety perceptions and their disparities (i.e., perception bias) as a function of the city’s land use and its socio-demographics. Results confirm that while the GeoAI-based measures better capture people’s instant impressions of the built environment across the city, the survey-based measures reflect their overall daily experiences of specific areas. Regions that appear to be economically vibrant and have inner-city streetscapes are perceived as safe places from visual appearance but are not always perceived as such by residents. Older adults tend to overestimate their likelihood of being victimized by crime, which may enlarge perception bias. The study concludes by critically assessing the potential ethical issues (e.g., spatial bias, population bias) in the proposed methodology and making suggestions for future research.

Although the influence of the built environment on both crime and people’s safety perceptions is well documented in the international literature, less evidence is found regarding the link between urban safety perceptions and crime occurrence. In this article, we investigate the potential relationship between crime and visual perceived safety (VPS), using Stockholm, Sweden as a case. Central to the study is the VPS score, a detailed measure of VPS and situational fear, created by combining a deep learning model with a data set of local street view images and citizen impressions. We examine this measure together with traditional crime records to compare the city’s distribution of safety and crime. First, geographical patterns and spatial clusters of high and low levels of crime and VPS were detected. Then, drawing from principles of environmental criminology, a spatial regression was used to examine the relationship between the VPS score and crime, controlling for sociodemographics and land-use factors. Findings show that crime rates of different types are significant predictors of poor VPS, but mismatching geographies of perceived safety and crime are common. The article discusses the findings and finishes by highlighting the impact of these results for research and practice.

Perceived neighborhood safety significantly affects the quality of life and social cohesion of communities. However, the perspectives of non-residents are often neglected, despite their potential influence on local views. This study addresses this gap by examining how locals (residents and frequent visitors) and outsiders (non-visitors) perceive safety in the largely stigmatized Stockholm district Järva. We use a digital mapping tool designed to facilitate participatory planning and engagement to allow citizens to create interactive maps and provide information about victimization and safety perceptions. Surveying 592 respondents and using a mixed-methods approach, the study investigates the environmental, social, and emotional factors shaping these perceptions. Findings highlight how stigma, place attachment and familiarity play an important role in moderating safety concerns, as even minor first-hand experience with Järva was linked to improved neighborhood perception. The study concludes by reflecting upon the importance of addressing territorial stigma and promoting local engagement to improve local and outsider safety perceptions. 

Most research on fear and safety perceptions focuses on adults, with limited attention to youth perspectives. When included, youth perspectives are often filtered through adult-designed surveys that overlook their unique vulnerabilities and relation to urban space. This gap in research may not only obscure adolescent vulnerability but also risk reinforcing negative stereotypes, as young people are often framed as contributors to urban safety concerns rather than as stakeholders. This study explores the potential of mobile applications as a tool for capturing youth perceptions of neighborhood safety. Unlike traditional surveys, smartphone applications facilitate real-time data collection, allowing participants to provide geotagged safety assessments, images, and contextual insights. The study focuses on a small sample of young residents in the largely stigmatized Järva district of Stockholm, Sweden, using Street Eye, a mobile application developed to document and analyze safety perceptions in urban spaces. Following the data collection, a workshop was conducted with participants to further contextualize their experiences. The findings contribute to the broader understanding of how adolescents experience urban safety and its relationship with place stigma, while highlightingthe potential of mobile technologies in enhancing participatory research on the geographies of fear and safety.