Adaptive Built Environment Lab

Safety perception in public spaces is a critical concern in urban environments. Nearly 82% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas; however, more than half of Americans are afraid to walk alone at night in urban neighborhoods. Literature shows that built environment features such as street lighting and urban vegetation influence inhabitants’ perception of safety. Research in urban planning and criminology suggests that installing brighter streetlights enhances pedestrians' willingness to walk at night.

This project considers the problem of improving the safety of students and other citizens in the context of a smart university town, as exemplified by Gainesville, FL which hosts the University of Florida. The preliminary study focused on the comparative impact of varying lighting features (light intensity, light color temperature, and dynamic changes in these features) on pedestrians' perceived safety when pedestrians experienced street harassment.

The preliminary study utilized VR technology as the experimental tool. A within-subject design was employed to examine participants' preferences among eight lighting scenarios. 50 participants were recruited from varying age groups: from 18 years old to older than 55. The findings revealed that bright light was perceived to be safer than dim light, and yellow light was perceived to be safer than white light.