American International Journal of Social Science

Effects of Perceived Safety on Women Mobility Habits for Sustainable Public Transportation
Asst. Prof. Dr. Deniz DENİZ

Abstract
Perceived safety and fear of personal victimization affect people’s quality of life in many ways. Particularly, women who live in cities mostly isolate themselves from the facilities and opportunities of the city, because of personal safety and fear of criminal victimization issues, which reduce their quality of life. Feeling vulnerable for crime or anti-social behavior create problems as actual crime itself in public transportation areas among women. In this respect, planning and design decisions are crucial for creating safer and sustainable public transportation. Fear of crime not only limits people’s access to opportunities and facilities, but also affects the livability and sustainability of the city. Although, studies from foreign literature prove that perceived safety is extremely related to the spatial and administrative issues, creating safer and sustainable public transportation through design concept has not been deeply considered with planning and design issues in Turkey so far. In this respect, the aim of this particular study is to analyze the effects of feelings of insecurity on women mobility and transportation habits in İzmir - as one of the biggest and crowded city in Turkey- for investigating the importance of perceived safety through public transportation to increase awareness on this subject in order to develop long term and sustainable solutions.

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