urban public spaces and women security: The case study of Mashhad

Safety is the most important Characteristic of public spaces and a prerequisite for citizens to attend in actively utilize these spaces. On the other hand, it is a right for general public to live in secure cities and an obligation for states to provide their citizens with a safe ambience. This article reports the findings of a survey on 300 public spaces in Mashhad in regard with safety. Also the findings of a field research with a sample of 1000 women concerning their safety feeling in urban public spaces are presented. The observed spaces includes parks, city bridges, underpasses and main traffic routes which were evaluated on the basis of physical, symbolic and social dimensions of safety. The findings indicate that underpasses and private passenger transporters are the most insecure situations from respondents point of view. Parks and the area around the interviewees Location fall in the second place. The respondents evaluated buses, Pedestrian bridges and cabs the safest places they have experienced. The deserves special attention is the low level of moral security as around half the respondents feel they are exposed to molestation, being kidnapped so on.The researcher concludes with some suggestion for improving safety in public city spaces.