The effects of visibility on fear of crime in schools' interior environments

Abstract

In any given environment, visibility is a critical element that affects fear of crime. This study provides empirical evidence of the effects of visibility on fear of crime within elementary schools using a quantitative analysis. Spots in which children felt fear were identified, and their characteristics were analyzed according to the four visibility dimensions of: visual connectivity and visual integration, each with and without visible distance restrictions. One finding was that fear of crime was high in the areas where visibility was either extremely low or extremely high, resulting in a relationship that can be expressed as a U-shaped graph. In addition, fear of crime was associated with visibility in relation to human behaviors as well as built environments. Finally, the visibility distance was also found to be an important element affecting fear of crime.