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Project title

Fear, urban design and neighbourhood segregation in Stockholm, Sweden

Supervisors

• Professor Rachel Pain
• Dr Georgiarna Varna

Research cluster

• Geographies of Social Change

Project description

This PhD seeks to investigate the social geographies of women’s safety, specifically the relationships between fear, urban design and neighbourhood segregation in Stockholm, Sweden.

The intersecting causes of female fear of crime have been identified as a significant gap in the literature and this remains the case despite the abundance of research on safety and perceived safety. It is particularly under-studied in Stockholm owing to the widespread assumption that the city is safe. However, my previous research demonstrates that factors underpinning women’s low fear of crime in Stockholm are problematic for others, such as spatial and social segregation. Therefore, informed by an intersectional framework, this research will explore how gender, race, class and place of residence fold into perceptions and likelihood of victimisation in different built (CPTED and non-CPTED) and social environments. Walking interviews, relief mapping and focus groups will be conducted with female citizens as well as key stakeholders. These will be used to investigate, first, how spatial patterns of perceived safety vary across Stockholm, and second, what interconnected processes within neighbourhoods influence perceived safety.

Publications

Journal articles:

Yates, A. (2021). The ‘Noir’ Side of Planning: White, Middle-Class Women’s Fear of Crime and Urban Design. Nordic Journal of Urban Studies, 1 (1): 42-56.

Yates, A. (2020). Female fear and residential segregation in Husby, Stockholm. Io Squaderno, (57): 23-27.

Yates, A. & Ceccato, V. (2020). Individual and spatial dimensions of women’s fear of crime: a Scandinavian study case. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, (44) 4: 1–16.

Book chapters:

Yates, A. & Ceccato, V. (2020) Individual and spatial dimensions of women’s fear of crime: a Scandinavian study case. In: Ceccato, V. and Nalla, M. Crime and Fear in Public Places. Pp. 265-289.

Presentations

2021: ‘Intersectional Nature of Women’s Fear of Crime’. To be presented at the American Society of Criminology, November, Chicago.

2021: ‘A reconceptualization of the relationship between residential segregation and women’s safety through the use of walking interviews’. Presented at the RC21 Conference 2021, July, Antwerp. (Online Conference).

2021: ‘Lessons for Urban Planners: Investigating the Relationship between Women’s Fear of Crime and Urban Design’. Presented at the IPVI21 Conference, June, Jyväskylä. (Online Conference)

2021: ‘Intersectional Methods: Eliciting the perspectives of differently-situated women in one neighbourhood’. Presented at the HaSS Showcase Conference, June, Ãå±±½ûµØ. (Online Conference)

2020: ‘Women’s Safety and the Urban Environment’. Invited by Highgate School, 22 April, London, UK.

Teaching

Geographies of Race and Nation
Postdisciplinary Criminology
Human Geographies of the UK
Quantitative Methods

Academic qualifications, memberships and achievements

• MA Human Geography Research Methods, Ãå±±½ûµØ
• BA Geography, University of Cambridge
• 2021 - 2022: UK-Canada Globalink Doctoral Exchange Scheme
• 2018 - 2022: ESRC NINE DTP Masters and Doctoral (1+3) Studentship
• 2019: Iland Research and Travel Award
• 2016: Jesus College Research and Travel Grant

Contact and further information

Find out more about Anna via  or .