Safe spaces and urban green - balancing perceived safety and nature restoration in cities (GREENSAFE)
KEY POINTS- More green spaces are needed – to support biodiversity and create better habitats for plants and pollinators.
- Green spaces should also feel safe – GREENSAFE investigates how design and management can help reduce feelings of insecurity.
- Turning research into practice – municipalities, researchers and organisations work together to develop practical solutions and a handbook for the future management of urban green spaces.
Project overview
Participants
More related research
Global goals
- 3. Good health and well-being
- 11. Sustainable cities and communities
- 15. Life on land
Short summary
The project explores how urban green spaces can be planned and managed to support both biodiversity and perceived safety.
Cities need more green spaces to support biodiversity, including more trees and shrubs and better habitats for pollinators. At the same time, certain types of greenery can make people feel less safe.
The GREENSAFE project therefore explores how urban green spaces can be planned and managed to support both biodiversity and perceived safety. The researchers study, among other things, how the density, structure and management of vegetation affect people’s sense of safety, as well as whether there are links between greenery, biodiversity and crime.
The project brings together ecologists, landscape architects and environmental psychologists, working in collaboration with the municipalities of Uppsala, Stockholm and Malmö. The project will, among other things, produce a practical handbook with concrete recommendations and examples of how green spaces can be designed and managed to create urban environments that are both safe and rich in biodiversity.
Participating Researchers
Sara Borgström, Division of Landscape Architecture, SLU
Juliana Daniel Ferreira, SLU Swedish Biodiversity Centre
Erik Öckinger, Department of Ecology, SLU
Maria Johansson, Faculty of Engineering at Lund University
Participating Partners
Uppsala Municipality, Babs Stuiver
White Arkitekter AB, Johan Kjellberg Jensen
Förening Ute, Lisa Adelsköld, Elsa Höglund, Maja Löfgren
Stockholm Municipality, Christina Wikberger.
Malmö Municipality, Mats Wirén