Аssessment of Safety of Urban Space of a Provincial Russian City by its Young Residents on the Example of Petrozavodsk

Today, the urban environment of many large cities in Russia remains uncomfortable and unsafe. Despite the seemingly existing efforts of the administration of Petrozavodsk to improve the quality of the urban environment, a mismatch between the needs of residents and the real situation is still present. Of interest for this study is the identification of the characteristics of a place perceived as dangerous and safe, and the main perceived fears and potential threats in the city. The objective of the study was to examine the subjective evaluation and perception of safety of urban space of Petrozavodsk by its young residents. The methodological basis of the research was study of the perception of the safety of urban space using the principles of theoretical and qualitative empirical analysis. The base consisted of 24 drawn mental maps of the city and 15 subsequent semi-structured interviews with young people from Petrozavodsk based on these maps. Young residents named the main danger people and their potential unpredictable actions. As for the tactics of making space safe, many of them are aimed at the same thing: avoiding the potential danger. In general, the reasons for the feeling of safety by young people are similar with those given in the theoretical chapter of the paper. The reasons why a particular place is perceived as dangerous were divided into three categories: 1) infrastructure features; 2) presence of “unwelcome residents” 3) subjective feeling. It can be said that in many respects the results obtained and the causes of fear correspond to those indicated in theoretical chapter of the paper. Empty roads, bushes and dark alleys, and especially the lifelessness of urban space, make people feel unsafe. Low-rise construction is important for the perception of space as safe as well as round-the-clock presence of people on the streets, which is confirmed as well. New residents of the district feel unsafe in contrast with those who have lived there for a long time.