[lifeisstillgood]

A park with no other people in it is / sensibly percieved to be unsafe.

Yet put a regular soccer game there, add in seats so that lunchtime workers sit down for a sandwich, encourage adults to take lengthy actions that simply involve bein there and the place both becomes safer and feels safer.

It's human nature to feel safer in a well lit, public space

The space is rarely the issues - it's the lack of other people

Blame the car culture firstly, blame bad architects next, blame atrocious town planners mostly

If we want to feel safe we know how - have adults outside.

[hilko]

Interesting. I can see how architecture plays a role in this.

My experiences were mostly in large towns and cities, where the architecture was sufficiently 'open' and 'organic' to perhaps make the areas safer than the ones you mean (even despite the 70s / 80s ugly and depressing concrete-everywhere approach that needs little more than some graffiti to look like a ghetto.)

[mapt]

One important aspect is density; Another is to have relatively mixed usage blocks with lively things like storefronts or entrances near the sidewalk as often as possible, rather than a street-facing brick wall on three sides, or expanses of lawn or parking lots.