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Making places safe for everyone
By Lois Lawn and Beth Henty
How can urban design help everyone feel safer in our towns and cities? In this article, Lois Lawn and Bethany Henty from ADAM Architecture's urban design team explores ten key principles for creating more inclusive, accessible and welcoming public spaces, drawing on research and best practice to show how thoughtful design can improve safety and enhance everyday experiences for all.
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“Creating places where people feel safe, welcome and confident to move around is fundamental to good design. Public safety for women and girls should always be a key priority, for its own sake but also because many of the measures that improve their safety also benefit children, older people, disabled people, and the wider community. By designing streets and public spaces that are accessible, visible and easy to navigate, we can create environments that work better for everyone.
At ADAM Architecture, we are motivated by creating good urbanism which incorporate these principles, aware of how the places we design will be used by all sectors of society. Our team includes female urban designers (including the authors of this piece) who bring their placemaking knowledge but also their personal experience to shape our inclusive designs and also to carefully review schemes in order to offer a female perspective which is so often overlooked.
Why Safe Places Matter
The way our towns and cities are planned has a significant impact on how people experience them. Feeling comfortable walking to a bus stop, cycling to work, travelling after dark or navigating an unfamiliar area should not depend on a person's gender, age or mobility.
Research consistently shows that different groups experience public spaces in different ways.[1] Women and girls in particular often report concerns about personal safety when travelling alone, especially in the evening.[2] However, addressing these concerns can lead to wider benefits, creating places that are more inclusive, active and accessible for all users.
Good urban design is not only about aesthetics. It is about shaping environments that encourage people to walk, cycle, use public transport and spend time in public spaces with confidence.
The Basics of What Makes a Place Feel Safe
Based on research and best practice in urban design[3], here are ten key principles which help create safer, more welcoming streets and public spaces.
1. Good Lighting
Well-lit streets, paths and public spaces help people feel more confident when travelling after dark. Effective lighting improves visibility, makes routes easier to navigate and contributes to an overall sense of security.
Lighting should be considered as part of the wider streetscape, ensuring key pedestrian routes, transport interchanges and public gathering spaces are clearly illuminated. Lighting should respond sensitively to its context, particularly in rural locations and areas of ecological value, where unnecessary illumination can adversely affect nocturnal and light-sensitive species. Appropriate lighting can improve visibility and contribute to crime prevention and perceptions of safety, but should be considered alongside other design measures that create safe, accessible and well-overlooked streets and spaces
2. Clear Sight Lines
People generally feel safer when they can see and be seenand also heard. Design features such as high walls, dense planting or poorly positioned structures can create areas where visibility and audibility is limited. Maintaining clear sight lines along pedestrian routes helps reduce feelings of vulnerability and supports natural surveillance.
Curved streets can contribute to a strong sense of enclosure, while well-positioned buildings can successfully terminate views and create visual interest. Where these design principles limit longer sight lines, lighting and landscape design should be carefully coordinated to maintain good visibility, natural surveillance and safe, legible routes for all users.
3. Easy Navigation and Signage
Simple, legible wayfinding is essential for creating accessible places. People should be able to move confidently between destinations such as town centres, transport hubs, workplaces and public facilities without relying solely on mobile devices. Clear signage, well-marked routes and intuitive street layouts help make places easier and more welcoming to use.
Soundscapes are also important. Urban environments generate a range of sounds that shape how individuals move through and experience public space. Negative soundscapes, such as silence, mechanical or disruptive noise, can discourage women from using a space. But by providing audible signs of life and activity, positive soundscapes help strengthen perceptions of safety, and support confident navigation through public spaces.[4]
4. Connected Public Transport
Safe and reliable public transport is a key component of inclusive communities. Transport networks should be easy to access, well-connected and supported by safe walking routes. The journey to and from a station, bus stop or transport interchange should feel as comfortable and convenient as the journey itself.
In rural communities, access to public transport can be affected by gaps in pedestrian infrastructure, particularly where bus stops are located on main roads. Providing continuous footways, appropriate lighting and safe pedestrian connections between transport stops, local amenities and residential areas can help make public transport more accessible and inclusive.
5. Prioritising Pedestrians
Walkable places support healthier, more vibrant communities. Providing safe crossings, direct routes and attractive public spaces encourages people to travel on foot, reducing unnecessary conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians helps create environments that are safer and more enjoyable for everyone.
Accommodating refuse and emergency vehicles should not come at the expense of pedestrian comfort and accessibility. Careful consideration of junction radii, crossing distances and footway design can help ensure streets remain accessible for larger vehicles while prioritising the needs of pedestrians, including people with visual impairments, wheelchair users and those with pushchairs.
By prioritising walkable spaces, negative soundscapes of cars and vehicles unloading can be replaced with positive soundscapes of people, talking and activities, such as restaurant ambiance.
6. Safe Cycling Routes
A connected network of cycle routes enables more people to choose active and sustainable forms of travel. Routes should be easy to understand, well maintained and designed to support users of different ages and confidence levels. Safe cycling infrastructure can encourage greater independence and increase travel options for a wider range of people.
Cycle routes should be designed for people of different ages, abilities and confidence levels. Providing quiet streets where children can learn to cycle, alongside safe and direct routes for everyday journeys, can help create an inclusive network that enables more people to choose cycling.
7. Active and Lively Streets
Places with regular activity often feel safer than those that are empty or isolated. Well-used streets, active frontages and a mix of uses create what urban designers often refer to as "eyes on the street". Shops, cafés, community facilities and homes overlooking public spaces can contribute to a sense of activity and natural surveillance throughout the day and evening.
Active functions such as shops, cafés and community spaces create lively, multi-sensory streets that encourage people to spend time in and connect with a place. This activity generates positive soundscapes, richer street experiences and greater levels of "co-presence", with more people present and engaged in public space. Combined with active frontages, seating and landscaping, these conditions increase natural surveillance through more "eyes on the street", helping people, particularly women, feel more comfortable, supported and able to pause safely within the street environment.
8. Accessible, Visible and Well-Maintained Footways
Generous footpaths benefit everyone. Wide pavements, dropped kerbs, smooth surfaces and step-free access support people using wheelchairs, pushchairs, mobility aids and bicycles, while also making walking more comfortable for all users.
Clean, well-maintained streets help create positive perceptions of safety. Overgrown planting, hidden corners, poorly maintained spaces and unnecessary clutter can make places feel less welcoming. Careful landscape management and thoughtful street design help improve visibility and make public spaces more inviting.
9. Positive and Inclusive Public Spaces
Public art, community projects and attractive public environments can contribute to a stronger sense of belonging. When people can see themselves reflected in the places around them, public spaces feel more welcoming and inclusive. Vibrant streets that celebrate local identity encourage greater community ownership and use.
10. Using Technology to Support Safety
Technology can complement good design by helping people make informed travel choices and access support when needed. Digital mapping, route-planning tools and community reporting apps can provide useful information about accessibility, lighting and perceived safety. However, technology works best when combined with well-designed, people-focused environments from the outset.
Digital tools can provide an additional layer of support. Apps such as SafetyPin and similar platforms can help women make informed choices about their journeys, drawing on shared experiences and perceptions of safety to identify routes where they may feel more comfortable.
Designing for Inclusion Benefits Everyone
A key lesson from urban design research is that places designed to meet the needs of those who may feel most vulnerable often work better for everyone. By understanding how different people experience a place, we can create environments that are safer, more accessible and more enjoyable for all. When we design with inclusivity in mind, we do not simply improve safety for one group. We create better places for everyone.”
Footnotes:
[3] Cities Alive: Designing cities that work for women - Arup
[4] Henty, B., & Peimani, N. (2025). Exploring women’s perception of safety through sensorial experiences. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2025.2602484