A Deduced Method for Assessing Safety and Security Perception: Case Study of Biblioteca Degli Alberi Park in Milan, Italy

Hosseinalizadeh, Saghar; Mahmoud, Israa H.; Morello, Eugenio

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-89525-9_8

A Deduced Method for Assessing Safety and Security Perception: Case Study of Biblioteca Degli Alberi Park in Milan, Italy

Saghar Hosseinalizadeh⁶,
Israa H. Mahmoud ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0161-6096⁷ &
Eugenio Morello⁷

Chapter
First Online: 05 March 2022

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Part of the Contemporary Urban Design Thinking book series (CUDT)

Abstract

Urban greening initiatives have taken many innovative forms over time, from large urban parks planning and preservation to ecosystem-based approaches such as Nature-based Solutions (NBS). Even though implementing NBS and vegetation are accompanied mainly by positive impacts, a considerable body of scientific evidence demonstrates the negative consequences of urban green areas on the subject of reducing safety and safety perception in terms of impacts on visibility and fear of crime. Considering vegetation as a critical element of the urban landscape, identifying the safety perception while implementing greenery interventions requires a deep study of their characteristics about space functionality.

This chapter aims to implement a methodology for assessing the safety and security perception of urban green spaces. The methodology is based on safety and security principles and indicators selected from an extensive literature review of scientific research and design guidelines for safer cities and relying in particular on the concept of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Assembling data regarding the case study’s safety perception is conducted through a survey-based approach and an online questionnaire. Case-study application for testing the methodology was the Biblioteca degli Alberi di Milano (BAM) park in Milan, Italy.

Keywords

Nature-based solutions (NBS)
Safety perception
Biblioteca degli Alberi di Milano (BAM)
Environmental criminology and risky places
Public spaces

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Notes

1.
Current dynamics of crime which are highlighted on environmental approach are asked to study issues as where did the crime happen, when did it happen, who was involved, what did they do, why did they do it, and how did they go about it. According to this perspective of crime as being subjective, it is about to prevent any criminological activities not to cure offenders.
2.
The Routine Activity (RA) theory explains there are three conditions to be met before a crime can occur. The conditions are the potential of crime, the potential of the victim, and lack of effective authority and control power to observe and respond to crime.
3.
According to the Broken Window Theory, environmental disorder influences people’s perceptions of safety. Disorder is the major cause of people’s fear of an environment, more than actual crime rates or victimization risks.
4.
COIMA is a leading platform in the investment, development and management of real estate assets on behalf of international and domestic institutional investors. Among its most important projects, the platform co-invested in, co-developed and still manages today the Porta Nuova project in Milan, one of the most prestigious urban requalification plans in Europe. BAM is a project of Fondazione Riccardo Catella and COIMA (2018). Porta Nuova: Biblioteca Degli Alberi-The Tree Library-is Inaugurated. Retrieved from https://hub.coima.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/PR_COIMA_Biblioteca-degli-Alberi_27 _10_2018_EN.pdf
5.
Fondazione Riccardo Catella was founded in 2007 with the mission of disseminating a culture of sustainability in the development of the territory and contributing proactively toward improving the quality of urban life through a program of research and awareness-raising dedicated to sustainable and responsible property investment (SRPI) and principles of social responsibility in the management of the territory, with a particular focus on mitigating and managing risks associated with climate change and realizing civic- and cultural-minded projects on the territory, with a view to optimizing and animating public areas and urban parks and greenery.
6.
It is considered as one of the projects of transforming vacant land to parks and urban green areas.
7.
It is named as ‘Isola District’ (Island District) because of its isolation from the rest of the city, precisely because of the railway track, which interrupted road connections to the center.
8.
Context (or site and area) appraisal means “a detailed analysis of the features of the site or area (including land uses, built and natural environment, and social and physical characteristics) which serves as the basis for an urban design framework, development brief, design guide, or other policy or guideline”.
9.
Link of the “Isola- Vita Nel Quartiere Lilla” group in Facebook is as https://www.facebook.com/groups/408190286249158/
10.
Note that all following graphs are based on five-point Likert scales ranging from 1 = the lowest to 5 = the highest, or 1 = is strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree.

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School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Saghar Hosseinalizadeh
Laboratorio di Simulazione Urbana Fausto Curti, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Israa H. Mahmoud & Eugenio Morello

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Saghar Hosseinalizadeh
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Israa H. Mahmoud
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Laboratorio di Simulazione Urbana Fausto Curti, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Dr. Israa H. Mahmoud
Laboratorio di Simulazione Urbana Fausto Curti, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Eugenio Morello
Department of Architecture and Urban Studies – (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira
Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
Davide Geneletti

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Hosseinalizadeh, S., Mahmoud, I.H., Morello, E. (2022). A Deduced Method for Assessing Safety and Security Perception: Case Study of Biblioteca Degli Alberi Park in Milan, Italy. In: Mahmoud, I.H., Morello, E., Lemes de Oliveira, F., Geneletti, D. (eds) Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Urban Planning. Contemporary Urban Design Thinking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89525-9_8

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