Of form and feeling: correlating urban form and feelings of insecurity in Porto, Portugal

Environmental criminology is built on the principle that criminal behaviour is conditioned by the (built) environment it occurs in, and that the introduction/removal of design and built features may reduce insecurity and criminal occurrences. Hence, local-based strategies have proven that "place matters" in crime-prevention, and have established the need for interdisciplinary research where urban morphology plays a central role, due to the influence of different spatial elements in feelings and behaviours. Although environmental criminology exists since the 1970s, it has recently been the object of new interest due to the increased success of strategies related to the criminology of places. This paper pretends to contribute to this debate by making an early exploration of how different components of place (built environment) and safety (perceptions of insecurity) correlate, using the city of Porto as case study. Based on a population survey carried out in 2020, feelings of unsafety towards places and their environmental features were determined, and compared with morphological variables at local level, derived from official data sources. A sample of about 500 respondents was analysed, and the results were compared spatially. It is expected that the resulting research contributes to draw locallybased prevention strategies based on the articulation between urban morphological elements, planning policies and the different realms of prevention

Exploring the spatial relationship between street crime events and the distribution of urban greenspace: the case of Porto, Portugal

In post-pandemic, climate-changing societies, the presence of urban greenspace assumes paramount functions, at the same time that socio-economic crises and shocks augment vulnerabilities and insecurities. The recent literature on environmental criminology argues that the geography of crime is not random, and that the presence of greenery, due to its impact on well-being and the environment, can have positive associations with feeling safe; although the opposite effect can occur if spaces are not properly designed or maintained. In this paper, the case study of Porto, Portugal, is presented; one of the municipalities with higher crime rates, that also pledged to double the available greenspace in the near future. As a way to support decision-making, the aim of this study was to present an overall exploratory diagnosis of how street crime patterns, of different typologies, spatially co-exist with greenspaces. Using a 10-year street crime dataset at the segment level, descriptive quantitative methods with the support of GIS have been applied to plot crime's spatial distribution over time, as well as the walking accessibility to greenspaces. The results confirm crime's geographical non-randomness, with distinct categories occupying specific locations, even though there was a consistently proportional distribution in the different distance bands. On the contrary, the cumulative effect of the proximity to greenspaces was variable. Almost half of the city's street crimes (46%) were within a 5 min walking distance of greenspaces, but they were much closer to smaller inner-city urban gardens, with higher densities of street crimes (hot spots), than to larger municipal parks, where lower densities (cold spots) were see

The impact of commercial activity on the form and structure of the city - the case of Portuguese mediumsized cities

The present document aims to sum up the first year of research in the on-going doctoral thesis, whichdwells on the balance between commercial activity and city realm. Both these entities have latelywitnessed new stages of evolution, which reflect themselves in changing variables and patterns. Initially,commerce was considered as an after-the-fact consequence of the urban form and structure preexistence,but because it has the ability to change and adapt more rapidly than the city, as well as havinglarge economic and social power, the flow of influence can be inverted. The research tends then to knowwhether the two entities are convergent or divergent in their patterns and what overlaps in theirdichotomies, bearing in mind that, although evolving separately, they must have to some degree commonvariables that can be assessed for further understanding the urban realm, finding solutions for regulatingand balancing estimated forms of distribution, proposing integrated political and technical mechanisms,and ultimately strengthening the use of commerce to reshape urban spaces. Aware that medium-sizedcities are now at the core of a network-base territory, are synonyms of equilibrium, sustainability andinnovation, and places of opportunity and (inter)national projection, the literature review focuses on fourdistinct points of view: city's, commerce's (three fronts: traditional retail, new commercial formats andweb-based), citizen's and planner's (merging the above and finding research tools). The "thesis" thatsubstantiates the research is then proposed. The last point presents the early makings of a workingmethodology, which presently is being developed

The morphological sense of commerce: theoretical review and lessons learned in four Portuguese medium sized cities

Shopping has been considered the principal wealth-generator of post-modern societies. Yet,two elements continually elude current theories and practices about the role of commerce on a widerperspective. Rarely is it considered an active agent in the structuring of the city and, furthermore, moststudies have solely focused on the geographical, economic and social dimensions of shopping, neglectingits morphological dimension. Only in the last 10 years have authors addressed this perspective, althoughsporadically and presenting focused views, resulting in a lack of knowledge and, ultimately, in the lack ofproper public policies. This paper aims to address the structuring nature of commerce and the influenceof its morphological component. For that it combines knowledge from various fields of research and alarge array of morphological variables at various resolution levels. Using as test-beds four Portuguesemedium-sized cities, GIS-models containing commercial, morphological, structural and temporalvariables were produced, explored and compared. Findings include i) the definition of commercial /morphological indicators, that can constitute values of reference or comparison for commercial policiesand other planning studies; ii) the evidence that morphological, rather than statistical similaritiesgenerate, on the micro-scale, more commercial similarities; and iii) the main bridging aspects betweencommercial activity and the form and structure of cities

Active accessibility: A review of operational measures of walking and cycling accessibility

Active travel is enthusiastically promoted in the Westernworld due to its clear and demonstrated individual and collective benefits. While active travel has been shown to be associated with featuresof the built environment such as density and land-use mix, it is alsoassociated with walking and cycling accessibility-which we designateas active accessibility. However, the measurement of active accessibility is not straightforward and it can represent significantly differentfeatures of the built environment. This paper presents an extensivereview of published research that measures active accessibility. Weclassified the literature into four categories based on the methodologyused: distance-based, gravity-based or potential, topological or infrastructure-based, and walkability and walk score-type measures. A fifthcategory was created to classify outliers consisting of distinct methodological approaches or hybrids of the four main categories. We arguethat almost all of these methods have conceptual and computationallimitations, and that there are inconsistencies in the use of conceptsand terms. Furthermore, no sensitivity analysis was carried out on theselected parameters. We conclude by presenting some guidelines thatmight improve the value and clarity of active accessibility research,theory, and practice

Geografias da (in)segurança e vulnerabilidades sociais em contexto urbano: análise multivariada de um inquérito à população na cidade do Porto

A Segurança é considerada um dos pilares elementares da qualidade de vida nas cidades, mas é principalmente nestas que se concentram as maiores oportunidades de ocorrência de incivilidades e crimes e, consequentemente, dos maiores sentimentos de insegurança registados. Esta problemática tornou-se ainda mais significativa quando as disparidades e as vulnerabilidades espaciais se acentuaram no período pós-crise e, mais recentemente, com a atual pandemia COVID-19. Porém, apesar do paradigma da segurança ter sofrido alterações aos longos das últimas décadas, de um modelo reativo para um preventivo, a dimensão geográfica da criminalidade permanece frequentemente negligenciada, não só em termos da espacialidade dos próprios eventos criminais, como da associação destes a fenómenos de vulnerabilidade e insegurança urbana. A forma como a população perceciona a sua segurança é de difícil medição e a expressão territorial da criminalidade, a várias escalas (da nacional à local), raramente tem sido objeto de estudo, principalmente na sua articulação com as políticas públicas e de segurança. Pretende-se dar contributos para esta articulação entre as diversas componentes da segurança, os contextos urbanos e as políticas de planeamento, usando como caso de estudo a cidade do Porto, em Portugal. Como fonte de dados, utilizou-se um inquérito à população sobre segurança urbana, sentimento de (in)segurança e qualidade de vida, destinado a residentes permanentes e trabalhadores/estudantes. As respostas de cerca de 500 inquiridos foram comparadas com análises estatístico-espaciais derivadas de dados provenientes de outras fontes oficiais (sociodemográficas e criminais). A análise comparativa da criminalidade, insegurança e de outros fenómenos da vulnerabilidade, sob uma perspetiva espacial comum, permite suportar um debate sobre estratégias preventivas de base local, adequando-as a comunidades e a contextos urbanos específicos. Os contributos desta análise permitem circunscrever caminhos alternativos para a integração de estratégias preventivas de base local, na prevenção da criminalidade, na redução do sentimento de insegurança e, consequentemente, na redução da vulnerabilidade social