Journal of Transport and Land Use

Fear follows form: A study of the relationship between neighborhood type, income and fear of crime at train stations

Sofie Kirt Strandbygaard

Technical University Denmark

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8260-3814

Otto Anker Nielsen

Technical University of Denmark, Department of Technology, Management and Economics

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7901-7021

Alan Keith Spence Jones

Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority

Bo Grönlund

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture.

Lotte Bjerregaard Jensen

Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil Engineering

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2422-5613

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2020.1675

Keywords: Land use, Neighbourhood type, Fear of crime, Stations

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Abstract

In pursuing fear-reduction strategies in public transport, the total experience of accessing rail stations should be taken into account. This article correlates passengers’ fear of crime at train stations with neighborhood types and income data within the pedestrian catchment area. The research is based on urban form and income around 84 S-train stations in the Copenhagen metropolitan area and nine years of passenger surveys on fear of crime at these stations. The study reveals a significant positive correlation between low income and fear of crime; the lower the income in an urban area, the more unsafe passengers feel at the station. However, when controlling for the relationship between income, safety and neighborhood type, stations in neighborhoods with urban form associated with low incomes have the lowest ratings of safety. The research indicates that train passengers’ sense of security is connected to neighborhood type and the city’s planning characteristics. This is an important finding for urban designers and planners working on the integration of public transport and station design in urban areas.

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Author Biographies

Sofie Kirt Strandbygaard, Technical University Denmark

M.Arch from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture. PhD fellow at Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil Engineering

Otto Anker Nielsen, Technical University of Denmark, Department of Technology, Management and Economics

M.Sc., Ph.D., Professor and head of the Transport Modelling Division, DTU Management Engineering, Transport modelling Technical University of Denmark

Alan Keith Spence Jones, Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority

BSc (Eng) Civil Engineering, MSc (Eng) Transportation Engineering

Bo Grönlund, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture.

Associate Professor Emeritus, M.Arch.

Lotte Bjerregaard Jensen, Technical University of Denmark, Department of Civil Engineering

Associate Professor, M.Arch Ph.D.

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