Conference Papers 2024

Seminar
Day 2 (19 Sep 2024), Session 7, Data for Active Travel, 15:30 - 17:30

Status
Accepted, awaiting documents

Submitted by / Abstract owner
Lily Scarponi

Authors
Lamia Abdelfattah, Fondazione Transform Transport ETS
Rawad Choubassi, Fondazione Transform Transport ETS
Andrea Gorrini, Fondazione Transform Transport ETS (presenter)
Federico Messa, Fondazione Transform Transport ETS (presenter)
Lily Scarponi, Fondazione Transform Transport ETS (presenter)
Catalina Valenzuela, Fondazione Transform Transport ETS
Florencia Andreola, Sex and the City APS
Laura Da Re, Sex and the City APS
Azzurra Muzzonigro, Sex and the City APS
Gerardo Carpentieri, TeMA Lab
Carmela Gargiulo, TeMA Lab
Carmen Guida, TeMA Lab
Valerio Martinelli, TeMA Lab
Tonia Stiuso, TeMA Lab
Floriana Zucaro, TeMA Lab
Carlos Canas, Walk21 Foundation
Eleonora Gargiulo, Walk21 Foundation
Jim Walker, Walk21 Foundation

Short abstract
The STEP UP project explored walkability and perception of safety from a gender-based perspective. Through a socio-spatial analysis and the use of data-driven techniques, the project aimed to support policies for the design of public spaces.

Abstract
Advanced urban and transport planning activities are shifting towards sustainable urban mobility solutions, with a focus on walkability, namely referring to how friendly the urban environment is for walking. Women experience the city differently than men, partly because they are more concerned with safety issues related to aggression and harassment.

In this context, the scientific research project “STEP UP - Walkability for Women in Milan” (funded by Fondazione Cariplo, Grant No. 2022-1643) explored the issue of walkability for women at night in Milan, Italy, with the aim of assessing how the design and the use of cities can influence perception of safety, through data-driven techniques and an intersectional approach. The project was divided into phases: an initial literature review confirming the key role of safety and perception of safety in gender walkability; the collection of relevant data through differentiated methods (e.g., app, geo-localized data, online survey questionnaires,focus groups, etc.), and the analysis of such data as a benchmark for the development of design guidelines for public space, in order to support local decision-makers in the urban planning process.

The data collected was divided into four main data sets: location-based data, online survey, focus groups and Wher app data, a route planner application operated by Walk21 Foundation, aimed at collecting geo-localized data about women’s perceived level of safety while walking in urban areas. These data sets provided both quantitative and qualitative data, equally important in the process of understanding a complex phenomenon such as perception of safety. The management and integration of these datasets were carried out through an intersectional approach, in order to evaluate existing biases and contribute to a more complete and accurate understanding of urban safety dynamics.

The data analysis was developed in two main outcomes: the first strongly connected to the city of Milan as revealed through the analysis of georeferenced ratings on the Wher app; the second outcome, more widespread and more easily exportable to different contexts, regards the influence of urban features and the socio-economic status on perception of safety while walking at night.

The first main outcome helped to identify challenging areas of Milan, which could benefit from further investigation and direct intervention to enhance safety perception. The analysis, done through GIS-Geographic Information Systems, was able to categorize areas of the city based on their relation with three indicators deemed significant and reliable by a Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) Model, namely: public lighting, frequency of surface public transport service at night and presence of food and drinks destinations. These 3 factors were selected from a full list of 19 safety factors identified during the Literature Review, on the basis of a multi-step methodology carefully designed to give an updated, fine-grained and spatially consistent picture of the city.

This enabled a further analysis to determine areas of the city that could benefit from improvements with respect to these three indicators, and which is defined as any area in which the value of the predicted safety score is less than 2.2 (where 1 is negative; 2 is neutral and 3 is positive), and with a local R2 higher than 0.7. This selection is meant to include areas that could benefit from improvement according to the model and that are reliable according to the model diagnostics, and include about 60% of the streets of Milan.

The second main outcome, developed through the analysis of an online survey and focus groups, determined the relevance of a number of urban factors in the perception of safety while walking at night. Based on the three main Safety Factors - Level 1 (SF_L1): (i) Spatial Features (space characteristics/ morphological features); (ii) City Use (traces of behavior and presence of other city users); and (iii) Hotspots (safe havens and no-go areas); further resulting in 19 sub-factors or Safety Factors - Level 2 (SF_L2). The online survey, counting over 1800 respondents, also provided information regarding the influence of socio-economic characteristics on a person’s perception of safety while walking alone at night.

Results showed how some urban factors can be very relevant to the perception of safety, either positively or negatively, whereas others don’t influence perception of safety at all. Furthermore the results of the online survey reported differences on certain perceptions of safety based on different age categories or different socio-economic profiles.

The results of this research contribute to the final objective of providing insight in issues related to gendered walkability, to support the development of gender-inclusive guidelines and policies for better urban planning in the city of Milan and globally.

Programme committee
Data

Topic
Cities and transport