Trusted global infrastructure consulting firm AECOM is funding a new initiative. Safe Places will look to develop a design approach that creates safer infrastructure in urban precincts.
AECOM has used this opportunity to acknowledge that public spaces after dark can still be unsafe, particularly for women and gender-diverse people.
Safe Places has used an interactive mapping tool to collect crowd-sourced data. This data identifies where people are and whether or not they feel safe. AECOM is then engaging in its 4500-strong national team to pin the location of safe or unsafe places.
Since starting the project, over 500 pins have been added so far. The map and feedback continue to be added to the map, which is accessible here.
Women and gender-diverse people experience significant safety barriers when accessing public spaces. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates one in four women did not walk in their local area alone after dark in the last 12 months because they felt unsafe, compared to one in 24 men.
AECOM’s urban design and transport planning specialists will analyse crowd-sourced data, including lighting, line of sight, foot traffic, maintenance, and passive surveillance information. Findings will be used to inform recommendations and develop best practices to improve how spaces are designed or retrofitted to improve safety.
Janice Lovelock, a senior engineer at AECOM and wheelchair user, has been integral to the Safe Places initiative: “Creating infrastructure that enables marginalised groups to participate and fully contribute benefits everyone and it’s important designers challenge generic and outdated requirements when creating public spaces. I am proud to work for a company that is committed to inclusive infrastructure.”
