Trygg i stadslandskapet? : ett exempel på genusperspektiv i stadsplanering

Abstract: In this thesis, theories regarding gender and spatial planning are applied to the comprehensive plan Fortuna och Hemgården in eastern Malmö. Independent of factors like class, ethnicity and age women experience lack of safety to a larger extent than men do. Today, safety aspects on housing projects is scarcely a controversial issue, quite the contrary. However seldom are the central terms such as safety and security defined. Research has shown that women feel safe when they experience little risk of being subjected to violence; security is deeply interconnected with feeling safe. Many planners and other professionals are awareof gender issues, but there is both a lack of interest and a lack of knowledge on how to implement gender aspects into safer city projects. Gender perspective on safety shows how closely interrelated safety is to the everyday life of women. The feeling of not being safe affects women's choice when it comes to transport, work and social life. Adapting to the risk of violence restricts women in doing certain activities, like staying out late at night or going for a run when it's dark outside. In these cases it is clear that power relations have a direct impact on space. Main fields within landscape architecture, our way of looking at spatial city planning and green environments are given new perspectives by Feminist Studies. Spatial Planning is a way of implementing power and has great impact on how we live and organize our lives. With a gender perspective on planning we realize that planning decisions often have different consequences for men and women. The analysis identifies unsafe spaces and places. This is done through a gender perspective.The study is partially based on the studies of geographer, Hille Koskela. In her research, she has defined spaces where women feel unsafe. By using a table divided into empty, crowded, open and closed spaces Koskela gives a tool on how to analyze safety in a spatial plan. Spatial consequences on the segregation of public and private space is investigated as well. The method used when investigating safety aspects on the comprehensive plan is far from being all-inclusive due to the plans complex nature.My hopes are that this thesis can show the importance of integrating gender issues into spatial planning. KEYWORDS: SAFETY, SECURITY, WOMEN'S FEAR, GENDER, SPATIAL CITY PLANNING, PUBLIC SPACE, POWER RELATIONS