Study of Sense of Safety in Different Urban Areas, Case study: a comparison of regions 2 and 11 of Tehran municipality

Nowadays urban spaces which have not been designed properly may decrease the sense of safety for the users. Therefore it is essential to study different aspects of sense of safety so that one can achieve better places. More over the study of women’s sense of safety especially during night seems most important. This study will follow two hypotheses. The first one assumes that the sense of safety in different areas of the city will be different based on the conditions of the area. The second hypothesis examines the sense of safety among men and women and during day and night and expects to find differences between the two groups. A quantitative method has been selected and a questionnaire was used for the data collection. Two districts in Tehran were selected for the study; one from the north part of the city and the other from a central part. Research findings showed no differences between the selected areas considering the sense of safety. However the results showed some differences in the northern area between men and women in case of sense of safety during day and night where in the central district there were no differences in this regard. The findings showed similarities among people for describing safe places. Majority of respondents believed buildings under construction and deserted alleys seem not safe regardless of their location in the city and the sense of safety is reduced in crowded streets. Many people believed that the presence of police and disciplinary forces as well as improving cultural factors between people besides the proper design of urban spaces will be the most important factors in creating the sense of safety.