Förändring av rädslans rum
med trygghetsskapande
This project has resulted in an website at www.tinadunker.se, where you also can download the project in it´s written form to get a deeper view of the project.
This project aims to explore fear of violence in public places. Fear of violence reminds us that there is a problem in our urban environment that leads to spatial consequences in using public space. Many groups in our society experience fear in their everyday life but this project has focus on women?s fear.
At first the perspective of gender in public space and fear is studied. The concept of gender refers to the socially and culturally constructed sex. It helps to understand the problem that the power relations and structures reflect in our public places. Personal experiences, media and rumours are examples of different factors that can influence our relationship to a specific place and that makes us relate it to an unsafe place.
Secondly, different examples of ?safe making? projects and strategies are explored and investigated. They show different possibilities to change and improve public places that are malfunctioning in a safety context. They also give knowledge and possibilities to changes in the planning of the urban environment as a whole.
Finally, based on the knowledge from the two previous parts an application is worked out for an unsafe place. The starting point is a place in Uppsala where I feel fear, Bellmasparken. This place is represented by three elements that often are mentioned in the contexts of fear: tunnels, streets and parks. By taking advantage of existing structures and functions, improving them and contributing them with new possibilities and functions the place can get new expressions and opportunities of use. The changes make it easier to visit the place during a longer time of the day and the night. This populates and gives the place more liveliness and an eventful environment that at the same time feels safe. The purpose of the application is to deepen the discussion and consider the ?safe making? projects and strategies that exist and how they can be used in the public space and place.
The city should offer possibilities and activities and therefore it?s important to give safety- and gender perspective more space and influence in the planning of cities and designing of public places. It?s hard to provide for everybody?s needs and to create a general model for ?safe -making?. Every place demands it?s on analysis at the same time as the ?safe-making? work musn?t become a specific question.
In combination with other actions in other parts of the city we can create new motions, which populate more places during a longer time of the day and night. It?s important that places of fear, which shuts out certain groups of people are replaced with safe and lively places. Otherwise there is a risk that the public places may shrink for some, especially for women.