Women and Safety in Public Urban Space: Case study of AZADI Park, Shiraz

Safety is one of the main requirements of communities nowadays. Urban planners and designers have to distinguish unsafely factors in urban environment. The main aim is to increase the safety sense in urban space that is used by all people. Women consistently express greater fears for their personal safety in urban environments than do men. They need special requirement in urban environment in order to increase their perception of safety in urban public space such as parks. This study aims to survey women’s perception of safety of public spaces in Shiraz city (Iran). The data were gathered through a questionnaire. The study space selected for the research is Azadi Park, one of the main parks of Shiraz city. The results showed that there is a directed relationship between women’s sense of safety from land use, traffic and place neighborhood. The findings also showed that the rate of traffic, mix use of locations and places around the park and many space usages such as police office and station as welles religious places would increase the sense of safety. Personal factors (age, education, job and nation) had no relationship with the sense of safety.