Evaluation women's sense of security in urban areas (Case Study: Region 1 of Ahvaz City)

District 1 of Ahvaz is one of the busiest and densest sites in the city due to the presence of many shopping centers, official departments, entertainment centers and inter-city connecting paths. Also, the worn-out urban fabric and Akhar Asphalt neighborhood has caused many problems in this area, such as decreased sense of security, mostly for the local women. Therefore, the goal of this research is to study the sense of security in women living in the said neighborhood. This study is an applied research using descriptive and survey methods, including structural equation modeling, to collect data. Data collection was carried out by a questionnaire consisting of 7 indicators (supervision, social, behavioral, skeletal, furniture, environmental, and accessibility factors) and 35 items based on the answers of the local women with a sample size of 381. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS21 and smart-PLS software. The results show that supervision, both official (police supervision and CCTVs) and unofficial (citizens), has the most impact on the sense of security. Due to the warm climate of the city, some areas of Ahvaz become deserted during the hottest days making the city look like the city of the dead, an issue that causes the transportation to be done in a stressful atmosphere. For the same reason, most of the street usage in Ahvaz happens in the nighttime. After supervision, the skeletal factor has the highest impact on women’s sense of security. District 1 consists of the most worn-out urban fabric. It also encompasses Akhar Asphalt neighborhood with its inappropriate social and skeletal conditions. The accumulation of buildings and dense urban texture in this area has made the skeletal indicator one of the most influential ones on the sense of security. The next influential factor is social factor due to overpopulation of the area because of its migration opportunities, the multi-racial quality of the area, presence of stranger passengers who aim to shop, and presence of parks in which the young people hang out regularly. The next indicator affecting the sense of security of women in this district is the environmental factor covering such items as noise pollution, dirty streets full of trash and sewage, abundance of nuisance animals/pests, and buildings with inappropriate and scratched appearance, again due to the worn-out urban fabric, slum conditions, and usage of all free spaces by boards and traffic signs. Based on the research findings, the respondents believe that the high number of bus terminals and taxi stations, did not let the women feel safe and secure enough. Also, density, worn-out urban fabric, and lack of sidewalks has decreased the feeling of security in women. According to the respondents, external indicators, such as skeletal and environmental factors, have the most effect on the behavior of urban women. They believe that the behavioral indicator has less effect than the environmental one. As for the furniture indicator, aside from the brightness item, other items such as the quality of pathways, traffic signs, and the usage of colors have less importance according to the respondents. This makes the furniture indicator the least effective factor on women’s sense of security.