ABSTRACT
Design publicly accessible spaces, and adjacent sites and buildings, to provide natural surveillance of activities in the public realm as a way to improve real and perceived safety from criminal activity. Most research studies on safety and social connections are single-site or single-city studies and systematic reviews are not available which makes it hard to generalize. For example, Dallago et al. used a World Health Organization survey of health behavior, administered to 15 year old students in 13 countries to understand the perception of their neighborhood in terms of place attachment, social capital, and safety. Ellen et al. reviewed evidence on health outcomes and neighborhoods effects, finding strong evidence that the level of neighborhood crime or violence influences health-related behaviors, mental health, and, to a lesser extent, birthweight. Perceived and actual safety from crime can support healthy behaviors such as increased outdoor physical or recreational activities, increasing informal surveillance of the public realm.
