Perceived Safety In Neighbourhoods

Abstract

The motive for this thesis project was to translate an intervention into a product that is applicable and replicable in other neighbourhoods to improve the perceived safety. This project was executed in collaboration with MV Design and Matching Futures. These design consultancies initiated an intervention in 2019 to stimulate the energy transition in the neighbourhood Reyeroord in the south of Rotterdam. This intervention used the frame of the night and was therefore called ‘De Nacht Club’ (The Night Club). During this intervention, the perceived safety in the neighbourhood came forward as an issue. In 2021, the design consultancies wanted to proceed with this concept with the new motive of improving the perceived safety in neighbourhoods in the Netherlands.
First, research was needed to identify why or how De Nacht Club could improve the perceived safety in neighbourhoods. Systems thinking is applied to describe how perceived safety in neighbourhoods originates. This research includes a theoretical study as to what perceived safety is, as well as field research with the neighbourhood Reyeroord as a case study. The combination of the desk and field research leads to the insights needed to create a systems map of perceived safety in neighbourhoods. Based on this system, possibility space is identified to intervene in the system, incorporating the existing knowledge and resources of the initial intervention. The research phase indicates that the perceived environment of people affects the perceived safety. By broadening people’s (social/physical) environment, people affect their expectations and perceptions of the environment. This can be done by broadening the public familiarity or strengthen the collective efficacy. The following field of tension comes forward. To increase one’s perceived environment, one must encounter or discover new environments. But discovering new environments is often unsafe and defiant in itself. This describes the frame of De Nacht Club: to offer a safe way to discover new – social and physical - environments. De Nacht Club uses the power of genuine encounters to do so. This way, De Nacht Club affects people’s perceived environment and therefore their perceived safety. In this report, a (re)design of the product (De Nacht Club) is presented with a coherent strategy to improve the perceived safety in neighbourhoods. The strategy consists of the substantiation of the design frame, a brand vision, mission and DNA and a three-piece method. Furthermore, the strategy includes a generic approach to applying the product to different neighbourhoods. This approach is presented in the shape of a set of design criteria for De Nacht Club. These criteria consist of six categories to ensure the value of an edition of De Nacht Club. Lastly, the set of criteria is refined based on expert validation. The product and coherent strategy designed in this project, translate the initial intervention into a coherent product to improve the perceived safety in neighbourhoods. The set of design criteria offers a generic approach to applying De Nacht Club to other neighbourhoods while ensuring the value of the intervention.