Towards safe campus environments through environmental design: two universities as case studies
Journal Title: Challenges of Modern Technology - Year 2016, Vol 7, Issue 4
Abstract
Universities are often considered to be safe sanctuaries. However, many higher education institutions have increasingly been confronted with crime and unrest. Violence and other crimes on campuses are currently an international concern. This paper reports on a study that investigated student’s perceptions of safety on two campuses namely Lahti University of Applied Sciences in Finland and the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Theories from Environmental Psychology and Urban Planning are combined in this study in order to incorporate aspects of the individual, social setting and spatial environment. Increasing people’s safety help to optimise their experience of their environment and can in turn create an enabling context for people to flourish and improve their quality of life. The research followed a qualitative research approach. In this study, 21 participants from a Finnish university and 16 participants from a South African university were selected through purposive sampling. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews supported by visual data of the spatial environment. All data were transcribed verbatim and analysed through qualitative content analysis. The literature and findings of the research both support that the spatial and social environment influences safety. It is therefore recommended that safe campus environments require a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach to proactively develop a Comprehensive Safe Environment Plan (CSEP). From a planning perspective, students’ perceptions of campus environments’ safety may include the creation of compact dedicated campus areas, land uses, building placing and orientation, territoriality, landscaping, visibility, control over fear-inducing activities, maintenance, security measures and pedestrian orientated areas.
Authors and Affiliations
Stephanus Coetzee, Karen Puren
Keywords
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- EP ID EP263724
- DOI 10.5604/01.3001.0010.8799
- Views 88
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