Research project
Empowering Community-Driven Safety: Enhancing Women’s Safety and Inclusivity in Public Spaces in Beeston
- Start date: 1 September 2025
- End date: 31 August 2026
- Funder: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Value: £15,000
- Partners and collaborators: Hamara Healthy Living Centre, Thahmina Begum
- Primary investigator: Dr. May Newisar
- Postgraduate students: Tika Hasan
This research examines women’s everyday experiences of safety in public spaces in Beeston, Leeds, focusing on the relationships between the built environment, social interactions, mobility and belonging. Building on the earlier WeSafSpace research, the project adopts a community-driven approach that recognises women’s lived experiences as an essential source of knowledge for understanding urban environments.
Beeston provides a distinctive context for exploring these experiences. Its ethnically and culturally diverse population, established community networks, busy commercial streets and neighbourhood green spaces create an urban environment in which perceptions of safety vary across different locations, times and social situations. The research examines everyday settings, including Cross Flatts Park, Tempest Road, Dewsbury Road and surrounding residential streets.
The project employs a combination of neighbourhood walk-along sessions, behavioural observations, participatory mapping, surveys and creative workshops. These methods capture how women experience public spaces in their daily lives, including the physical conditions, social encounters and emotional responses that influence their movements and interactions with their surroundings.
The research is structured around three interconnected themes: Perceiving, examining visibility, environmental conditions and interpretations of potential risk; Navigating, exploring accessibility, movement, social activity and everyday route choices; and Belonging, considering emotional safety, cultural identity, familiarity and relationships with place.
Creative and sensory workshops complement the spatial research, providing opportunities for participants to express their experiences through artwork, mapping and collective reflection. These activities also document women's aspirations for their neighbourhood, including welcoming streets, accessible green spaces and places that encourage social interaction.
Project aims
The project aims to develop a community-driven understanding of women’s safety in public spaces in Beeston, Leeds, and translate women’s lived experiences into practical recommendations for more inclusive urban design, planning and local policymaking.
The specific objectives are to:
1. Understand women’s experiences of safety: Explore how women from diverse backgrounds perceive and experience safety in their everyday use of public spaces, considering the influence of age, ethnicity, cultural identity and mobility.
2. Identify spatial and social factors: Examine how urban design, accessibility, lighting, environmental maintenance, social activity and community relationships shape women’s perceptions of safety and everyday movement.
3. Strengthen community participation: Place women’s voices and local knowledge at the centre of the research through participatory mapping, neighbourhood walks and creative workshops.
4. Co-produce a vision for safer public spaces: Explore women’s priorities and aspirations for welcoming streets, accessible green spaces and inclusive neighbourhood environments that support wellbeing and belonging.
5. Inform policy and practice: Develop evidence-based recommendations for local authorities, urban designers, transport planners and community organisations, supporting the integration of women’s experiences into future planning, public-space improvements and neighbourhood decision-making.
Impact
The project has established a foundation for improving women's safety and inclusivity in public spaces through community-led research, participatory engagement and practical recommendations. Its impact is developing across four interconnected areas.
Informed policy and practice in public-space design
The project has produced evidence-based recommendations for urban design, community organisations, Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. These provide a basis for integrating women's lived experiences into local planning, public-realm improvements and neighbourhood-level safety initiatives. Their adoption and implementation remain anticipated outcomes.
Improved perceptions of safety
Through neighbourhood walks, participatory mapping and creative workshops, women have identified the environmental and social conditions affecting their everyday experiences. The project has documented priorities for more accessible, welcoming and inclusive public spaces. Future implementation of these recommendations is expected to support improvements in perceived safety, confidence and everyday use of public spaces.
Replication and scaling
The project's participatory methodology and recommendations provide a framework that could be adapted to other neighbourhoods. Its combination of spatial analysis, community knowledge and creative engagement offers opportunities to inform similar women-centred safety initiatives beyond Beeston.
Enhanced local resilience and social capital
The project has created opportunities for women to share experiences, identify collective priorities and contribute to discussions about their neighbourhood. Engagement with community organisations has also strengthened the foundation for continued collaboration between residents, researchers and local decision-makers. This is expected to support sustained community participation and women's involvement in advocating for local improvements.