The role of urban defenseless spaces in women’s security: A case study of Jiroft, Kerman province, Iran

Abstract

Growing trends in urban development combined with fundamental changes in the physical context of cities necessitate paying attention to the quality of urban spaces. The low quality of spaces, known as defenseless spaces, has a significant impact on the security of citizens, particularly vulnerable groups, including women. By emphasizing the role of defenseless spaces in Jiroft, the present study aims to evaluate their effect on women?s security. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using an independent t-test. Kendall correlation and regression were also applied in order to determine the quality of urban spaces and to evaluate their relationship with women?s safety. The results show that the physical spaces in Jiroft, more than 30% of which are worn out, are of low quality, and thus can be referred to as defenseless. The level of women?s satisfaction with the quality of the space is not high enough and this situation has increased women?s insecurity by 41%. Therefore, reconsidering urban design, especially in the peripheral and suburban areas is necessary, owing to women?s dissatisfaction with the quality of urban spaces and the positive correlation of these spaces with the level of security.