City - Centre ion Fear in the Evening

8/8/2019 City - Centre ion Fear in the Evening

1/28

Urban Studies, Vol. 37, No. 8, 14031429, 2000

City-centre Revitalisation: Problems of

Fragmentation and Fear in the Evening andNight-time City

Colin J. Thomas and Rosemary D. F. Bromley

[Paper rst received, June 1998; in nal form, May 1999]

Summary. Over the past 30 years the pre-eminent commercial status of the city centre in the

retail system of British cities has been challenged by the competitive impact of retail decentralis-

ation. A contemporaneous decentralisation of ofce and leisure activities has exacerbated th

situation. At the same time, early redevelopment strategies have created signicant degrees of

spatial fragmentation between functions and the loss of a substantial residential population. In

the contemporary social climate, these changes have resulted in negative implications for th

perception of safety and the generation of fear and anxiety amongst all users of the city centre

Consequently, safety issues have accentuated the emerging problems of the city centres, particu

larly for evening and night-time activities. City-centre revitalisation strategies have increasingly

aimed to extend vitality and viability beyond the temporal divide associated with the 5pm

ight. This has involved the incorporation of the 24-hour city concept. However, this strategy

has proved problematic due to the negative perceptions of safety, which are associated with th

emergence of an exclusionary youth culture in many major cities in recent years. This paper

seeks to examine the nature and scale of the obstacles to the revitalisation of the evening and

night-time economy and culture of Swansea and Cardiff in order the better to inform strategies

which aim to instigate the 24-hour city concept. The study reveals substantial obstacles to the

realisation of a vibrant 24-hour city, the scale of which suggests the need for considerable and

concerted planning and development efforts if they are to be overcome. Many opportunities exist

but the impediments suggest that progress in the direction of a liveable 24-hour city is likely

at best, to be slow and incremental in the British situation.

Introduction

As a result of the progressive decentralis-

ation of retail, ofce and leisure functions

over the past 30 years, the decline of the

economy of the city centre has been a wide-spread feature of British cities. Decline in

curtailment of most functions to the busi

ness day followed by the 5pm ight. A

the same time, the evening and night-tim

economies have been frequently restricted toa residual youth-dominated pub and club


2/28

COLIN J. THOMAS AND ROSEMARY D. F. BROMLEY1404

community. However, for the whole of this

period, central and local government plan-

ners have been committed to retaining the

city centre as the commercial and social hub

of the city-region. Since the early 1980s, this

commitment has necessitated the develop-

ment of strong revitalisation strategies de-signed to maintain the primary commercial

status of the city centres (Thomas and Brom-

ley, 1996). In recent years, particular atten-

tion has been directed towards extending the

vitality and viability of the city centre

across a longer time-span (DoE, 1994) within

the context of the 24-hour city concept

(Heath and Stickland, 1997). This involves

extending the business day and integratingit with an expanded evening and night-time

economy. Such initiatives seek to offer a

broader range of leisure and cultural activi-

ties, capable of appealing to a wider social

spectrum. However, the fears of existing and

potential visitors to the city centre in the

early evening and at night are considered to

be signicant obstacles to the revitalisation

of the night-time economy (Oc and Tiesdell,1997a). Currently, little detailed evidence ex-

ists on the nature and scale of such barriers.

It is the contention of this paper that more

detailed evidence is needed of the current

patterns of usage of the evening and night-

time economies of British city centres and of

their association with safety considerations.

Such information is necessary the better to

inform policies designed to assist the 24-hour

city-centre initiatives. As an exploratory step

in this direction, evidence is presented from

surveys undertaken in Swansea and Cardiff

in south Wales. This forms the substantive

focus of this paper.

Decentralisation and City-centre Decline

The declining status of the city centre as a

focus for retail, business, entertainment andcultural activities for surrounding metropoli-

intense competition from new suburban retai

(the malling of the American landscape

and ofce concentrations associated with

steadily rising afuence, increased car own

ership and intraurban highway improvement

(Lord, 1988). At the same time, the subur

banisation of the middle classes from theinner suburbs to be replaced by lower-statu

concentrations of ethnic minorities, reduced

both the spending power of the immediate

market and the attractions of the central city

for afuent suburbanites. In fact, the per

ceived physical and social malaise of the

inner cities has been widely considered to be

a potent force contributing to the process o

decline (Jacobs, 1961). The fears of bothshoppers and those employed in the city

centres for their safety are considered to have

deterred visits from suburban residents and

reduced overall levels of pedestrian activity

Survey evidence from potential New York

shoppers, for example, indicated that 63 pe

cent of the sample rarely visited the city

centre due to fear, while fear also reduced

overall levels of pedestrian activity beyondinsulated self-contained retail and ofce

complexes, indoor walkways and parkade

(Citizens Crime Commission, 1985). Thus

most city planning authorities in the US have

been attempting in recent years to revitalise

central business districts. Amongst the wide

range of redevelopment strategies, those con

cerned with safety considerations have

loomed large (Robertson, 1995; Wagner e

al., 1995).

However, while city-centre commercia

decline has been a common feature of mos

other Western countries, its detailed charac

teristics have varied in relation to the

specics of particular countries and, some

times, to the circumstances of individual cit

ies. In Canada and Australia, for example

the fortunes of the city centres have been less

problematicdespite being subject to similacompetitive pressures for decentralisation


3/28

CITY-CENTRE REVITALISATION 1405

ation and less-marked inner-city racial prob-

lems largely explain the differences. In west-

ern Europe, the retention of higher

population densities in the inner city; the

effects of even more restrictive planning

regimes; and early attention to the mainte-

nance of an amenable shopping environmentmore easily accessible by public transport;

have retained the primary commercial status

of most city centres (House of Commons

Environment Committee, 1994; Davies,

1995).

Retail Decentralisation and the City Centre

in the UK

The experience of the UK reects an uneasy

compromise between the commitment of

successive governments to the city centre as

the economic, social and cultural hub of the

city-region, while at the same time attempt-

ing to accommodate commercial pressures

for the decentralisation of retail, ofce and

entertainment functions. The contemporane-

ous decline of industry, warehousing andwholesaling in the inner cities and the re-

development of the densely occupied inner

suburbs with lower-density housing, usually

occupied by relatively poor and ethnically

segregated communities, have reduced the

size of the nearby market of many city cen-

tres and the likelihood of the casual pres-

ence of a residential population outside

business hours.

Retail decentralisation, related to the na-

tionwide growth in car ownership and the

associated redistribution of the population to

suburban and rural locations, has also had a

negative competitive impact on the tra-

ditional city centres. Thus, despite an ofcial

commitment to the commercial primacy of

the city centre, gradual pressure for retail

decentralisation has been a potent force for

change since the mid 1960s (Bromley andThomas, 1993). This was initiated with the

of the 1980s, contingent upon a stronge

government commitment to a market philos

ophy. Thus, by the early 1990s, over 250

peripheral retail parks had been developed

along with 4 new regional shopping mall

(DoE, 1992; Guy, 1994a). Consequently, de

centralisation appears to have curtailed thegrowth of the central shopping areas of the

older industrial towns and cities in the per

ipheral regions of the country (Reynolds and

Schiller, 1992), and initiated a compaction

process at their margins. The decline of the

city centres of Shefeld and Dudley, fo

example, has been linked with the develop

ment of nearby regional shopping centre

(DoE, 1993; Rowley, 1993), and stagnationin Swansea with the vigorous growth of the

retail warehouse sector (Thomas and Brom

ley, 1993). Thus, many city centres in

Britain, particularly in the larger industria

towns, now display evidence of commercia

decline. This is characterised by long-term

vacancies, lower-status stores replacing mar

ket leaders, the emergence of charity shop

and the development of a general air odilapidation, all features which are most evi

dent in locations peripheral to the centres

This process reduces the overall attractive

ness of a centre and is analogous to the

process of decline seen extensively in the

US. In fact, widespread concern is now being

expressed for the future of the city centre

and the notional ideal of a complementarity

between the city centre and the new facilitie

is giving way to the recognition of the grow

ing competitive impact of decentralisation

seen in Britain over the past 30 years.

Nevertheless, constraint upon the force

promoting retail decentralisation has been the

underlying feature of successive governmen

policies since the mid 1960s, despite inter

mittent relaxation (Thomas and Bromley

1993). Thus, only 7 of the approximately 50

regional malls proposed in the late 1980have been completed. In particular, a com


4/28


ated in a range of related documents (DoE,

1992, 1994; House of Commons Environ-

ment Committee, 1994); while the change of

government in May 1996 has not modied

the situation substantially (DoE and Welsh

Ofce, 1996).

However, while constrained by govern-ment intervention, the challenge of retail de-

centralisation to the continued vitality and

viability of the British city centre remains,

and a fully comprehensive retail planning

strategy has yet to be formulated. In the latter

years of the Conservative government, for

example, a degree of ambivalence on the

question of new regional shopping centres

resulted in the opening of centres in Bristolin 1998 and Manchester and London in 1999.

Likewise, the development of a number of

sub-regional centres and the incremental ex-

pansion of many existing retail parks are

likely to continue to affect adversely the

future of the traditional city centres in their

vicinity (Herbert and Thomas, 1997). Simi-

larly, commercial innovations such as US-

style outlet malls continue to add vigour tothe decentralisation process (Fernie, 1995).

Thus, the continued commercial primacy

of the British city centre is under severe

threat. The post-war experiences of the

British city centre have resulted in an array

of problems that need to be ameliorated if the

city centre is to retain its pre-eminent pos-

ition in the system of service centres.

The Problem of Spatial Fragmentation

In addition to the competitive problems gen-

erated by decentralisation, early redevelop-

ment strategies have frequently exacerbated

the situation by introducing signicant de-

grees of spatial fragmentation between func-

tions. Large-scale retail developments were

initiated in many city centres in the 1950s,

particularly in those cities that had sufferedextensive wartime damage. The early

central business district; the principal shop

ping concentrations are often pedestrianised

while ofce districts, civic centres and enter

tainment areas have emerged as clearly dis

tinguishable zones within the city centre

(Davies, 1984).

This phase was followed by the construction of covered malls from the mid 1960s

Between 1965 and 1989, 8.9 million square

metres of retail oorspace was provided in

604 town-centre shopping schemes of 4650

square metres or larger (DoE, 1992). Th

closure of many of these shopping precincts

at the end of the trading day further frag

mented the structure of the city centre (Fran

cis, 1991). This tends to curtail informapedestrian browsing and window-shopping

as well as presenting barriers to pedestrians

Often this necessitates the use of circuitou

routes to bus stops and car parks, routes tha

may be less attractive or may be perceived as

less safe by shoppers.

Oc and Tiesdell (1997a) suggest that the

micro-spatial aspects of functional segre

gation in British city centres largely reecthe rigid functional zoning associated with

the aesthetics of urban space design popular

ised by modernist architects and planner

throughout much of the post-war period. The

physical separation of functional nodes in the

city centre requires walkways, bridges and

subways to integrate bus stops, bus station

and car parks with the shopping, ofce and

entertainment facilities. The inclusion of an

element of wide-open spaces to accommo

date the associated preference for a

signicant element of light and air has ac

centuated further the tendency toward

physical fragmentation. In effect, spatial seg

regation and functional fragmentation have

become characteristic features of British city

centres. These features have resulted in the

proliferation of lonely walkways and dead

spaces within the fabric of the city centre, aa time when the safety of shoppers and em


5/28


Safety Issues and City-centre Revitalisa-

tion

The competitive impact of retail decentralis-

ation has resulted frequently in either the loss

of existing retail, ofce and entertainment

facilities or the failure to attract new invest-ment. This has reduced the vitality of the city

centre and has generated concerns for the

safety of shoppers, employees and residents.

Frequently, this has been accompanied by the

emergence of adverse environmental features

(physical incivilities), vacant premises and

the proliferation of security shutters, particu-

larly around the peripheries of city centres

(Nelson, 1998a). Likewise, early redevelop-ment strategies have contributed to the gen-

eration of fear by introducing signicant

degrees of spatial fragmentation between

functions and the loss of a substantial resi-

dent population. Together, these changes

have negative implications for the perception

of safety of all users of the city centre in the

contemporary social climate. Thus, a

signicant minority of shoppers are alreadyfearful for their safety, characteristically less

than 10 per cent (Nottingham Safer Cities

Project, 1990; Thomas and Bromley, 1996).

However, far more substantial minorities ex-

press anxieties concerning fears of being

robbed (c. 20 per cent), by threats posed by

groups of youths and vagrants (c. 40 per

cent), and by fears for the safety of their cars

(c. 2050 per cent) (Thomas and Bromley,

1996).

There has for some time existed an ofcial

commitment to retaining the city centre as

the principal commercial, social and cultural

focus of urban life. However, the process of

revitalisation has been largely dependent

upon the attraction of commercial investment

for retail, ofce and entertainment facilities.

Clearly, such developments can positively

enhance the attraction of the area. However,only rarely has such investment been com-

segment of the market. Ease of access to the

city centre has rarely been improved fo

users of public transport, and has been re

duced for car-borne travellers; while safety

considerations have attracted only a nomina

interest (DoE, 1992, 1994; Guy, 1994b).

Nevertheless, there exists a wide range ofpolicies designed to revitalise the city centre

and these have been reviewed in a previous

paper (Thomas and Bromley, 1996). Cur

rently, the favoured mechanism for regener

ation is the creation of partnerships between

public-sector initiatives and private-secto

nance, with strategies designed to improve

the attractions, accessibility and amenity of

fered by the city centres (DoE, 1994). Withinthis context, the advantages of a compac

centreincluding additional attractions and

functional diversityare stressed, while the

need to integrate trip-destination points in the

city centre with the major functional node

are also of central signicance. The residen

tial repopulation of the city centre is seen as

offering the potential for enhancing both the

immediate market and the likelihood of moreinformal pedestrian activity across a wide

time-span than the business day. Equally

the need to improve the aesthetics and en

vironmental amenity of the city centre i

apparent in many cases, while the advantages

of rm management and positive promotion

are also seen as vital ingredients of the re

generation process. However, in all these

circumstances, there is increasing concern

that safety considerations should be ad

dressed more fully if the revitalisation pro

cess is to achieve maximum impact (DoE

and Welsh Ofce, 1994).

Temporal Fragmentation in the City

centre Economy

Temporal functional segregation has alway

been a signicant element of the life of citycentres in the UK. Activity during the day


6/28


restaurants, cinemas, theatres and concert

halls. It has been argued widely that city-

centre revitalisation would be assisted by

merging the working day into an expanded

evening and night-time economy along the

lines of the experience of many western Eu-

ropean cities (DoE, 1994; Bianchini, 1995).However, it has also been suggested that a

number of physical, social and cultural

changes over the past 20 years have trans-

lated temporal functional segregation in the

British city centre into an additional series of

safety issues which positively detract from

the revitalisation process.

The physical divisions between the func-

tional zones have been accentuated as a re-sult of the extension of modernist planning

ideals. At the same time, the loss of a

signicant resident population in most

British city centres has created a stronger

temporal dichotomy between day and night-

time activities. This has resulted in a contin-

gent loss of natural surveillance (Newman,

1972) and the casual enforcement of civilis-

ation associated with more eyes on thestreet (Jacobs, 1961). Furthermore, complex

social and cultural changes have altered fur-

ther the nature of the city centre after day-

time business hours. The decline of the older

entertainment facilities such as the smaller

cinemas and dance halls in favour of larger,

and usually peripheral, leisure complexes

combining multiscreen cinemas and bowling

alleys, has narrowed the range of both the

leisure opportunities available and the kinds

of people visiting the city centre. This has

been accentuated by the extension of home-

based entertainment for the younger family

groups. These changes have been associated

with a growth in the fear of crime in the city

centre at night amongst women, the elderly

and the suburban middle classes (Comedia,

1991), while fear of car crime and the decline

of public transport facilities have served toreduce accessibility.

ties but has substantial amounts of disposable

income available for leisure. The growth o

the youth culture and its tendency toward

male domination, along with its association

with heavy drinking, drugs and regularly re

ported late-night violent incidents, have al

served to reduce further the attractions of thenight-time city centre for a broader spectrum

of the population.

Together, these changes have transformed

the British city centre by night into an area

dominated by young people, and perceived

as a threatening environment by the wide

community. Nevertheless, the night-tim

economy thrives in most major city centres

in Britain. Oc and Tiesdell (1997b), reportfor example, that the pubs and clubs of cen

tral Nottingham regularly attract 20 000

30 000 visitors on Friday and Saturday

nights, a situation replicated in most othe

regional and sub-regional city centres. How

ever, the market is often restricted socially to

the youthful group and, functionally, to the

pub and club scene. Thus, while the night

time functions are clearly a signicant element of the economy of British city centres

their contribution to its continued vitality

and viability is restricted due to their exclu

sionary or mono-cultural characteristic

(Oc and Tiesdell, 1997a). It is also likely tha

the unfavourable image of the night-tim

city-centre culture impacts adversely on the

day-time image. This expresses itself in a

distinct tendency for shoppers to leave the

city centre after 4pm due to fears for thei

safety associated with lower levels of activity

on the streets and in car parks as shop-clos

ing times approach (Thomas and Bromley

1996). In winter, this tendency is accentuated

by the early loss of daylight, particularly a

It is dark, lonely and unfamiliar place

which women associate with the possibility

of attack (Pain, 1997, p. 235). Thus, a

shops and ofces close at around 5pm thereis a virtual abandonment of the city centre


7/28


1990s that citycentre revitalisation in Britain

needs both to redress the curtailment of its

commercial life associated with the 5pm

ight and to ameliorate the negative image

resulting from the emergence of the exclu-

sionary night-time culture. The initial im-

petus stemmed from the calls of thewomens movement to reclaim the night

(Trench, 1991), but this has been expanded

to encompass the 24-hour city concept de-

rived from the experience of the European

city since the late 1970s (Heath and Stick-

land, 1997). The strategies associated with

the concept aim to extend the activity period

and social mix of users of the city centre by

offering a wider range of evening and night-time functions, and, in the process, to pro-

vide a safer city centre, with an image more

likely to attract future investment. Rarely,

however, is a truly 24-hour activity pattern

the goal. For most cities adopting the con-

cept, the intention is to extend the economic

and social life of the city centre from early

morning (c. 8am) to the early hours of the

next morning (c. 24am). Thus f ar,Manchester, Leeds and Cardiff are amongst

the few cities attempting to institute the lit-

eral interpretation of the concept.

Fundamental elements of such strategies

are the need to bridge a number of gaps in

the city-centre activity pattern, combined

with the need to offer a broader range of

activities designed to appeal to a wider social

mix. Thus, the hiatus of activity between

shop-closing times and the early-evening

users of restaurants, theatres, concerts and

the remaining cinemas (the evening econ-

omy) is envisaged as being redressed by

extending shop-opening hours and linking

this with an active cafe culture (Heath and

Stickland, 1997). Subsequently, the gap be-

tween the departure of the early-evening

users and the arrival of the habitues of the

night-time economy could be reduced by theencouragement of the early-evening visitors

from the provision of additional attraction

such as summer street entertainment and fes

tivals, or a more creative array of cultura

and civic events based in museums, gallerie

and leisure centres (Montgomery, 1995)

However, while such strategies might well be

able to contribute to reinvigorating and humanising the night-time economy, the cau

tionary note struck by Oc and Tiesdel

(1997a) is worthy of reiteration. Urban de

sign and activity provision can contribute to

the creation of a commercially and socially

stronger city centre by reclaiming the nigh

as part of the public realm. However, the

degree of success will also continue to be

dependent on the modication of the patternof adverse behaviour associated with the ex

clusionary and threatening elements of con

temporary youth culture.

Thus, a convincing body of opinion sug

gests that the introduction of strategies asso

ciated with the 24-hour city concept are

likely to be an essential ingredient of city

centre revitalisation in Britain. However

while there is considerable anecdotal agreement on the current obstacles to the develop

ment of a 24-hour city attractive to the

community at large, only limited hard evi

dence on the nature and scale of the safety

considerations exists. Atkins (1989) notes

for example, from a survey of Birmingham

residents in 1987, that 69 per cent of respon

dents were deterred from visiting the city

centre at night. For Nottingham, however, Oc

and Tiesdell (1997b) state that a lower bu

none-the-less substantial concern for safety

exists among women. They indicate from an

unpublished report of a survey undertaken by

Guessoum-Benderbouz in 1994 that only 14

per cent of female respondents to a posta

questionnaire considered themselves safe af

ter dark in the city centre, while 48 per cen

actually avoided such visits. Also for Not

tingham, the same authors report the ndingof a perception study undertaken in 1995 fo


8/28


Thus, this paper seeks to add to an under-

standing of the safety issues which act as

barriers to the revitalisation of the evening

and night-time economies in British city cen-

tres.

Dening Fears of Crime

The fear of crime in Britain appears to have

increased over the past 20 years. The British

Crime Survey indicated that between 1981

and 1995 the number of crimes reported to

the police increased by 91 per cent, and this

is thought to understate the actual levels of

crime by about one-half (Mirrlees-Black etal., 1996). The increased level of crime was

reected in the views of the random sample

of around 16 500 persons interviewed in the

survey on a wide range of crime-related is-

sues. For the purposes of the survey, fear of

crime was regarded as synonymous with

worry and anxiety, and characterised as a

generalised response to threats of victimis-

ation against the person. This was measuredcrudely in response to the question: How

safe do you feel walking alone in the street

after dark?. However, signicant levels of

fear were recorded. Approximately one-third

of the sample recorded a degree of fear in

this situation, but a substantial difference

occurred between women (47 per cent) and

men (15 per cent), while the level increased

steadily with age and was particularly high

for women of over 60 years (60 per cent). In

addition, nearly 25 per cent of respondents

indicated that they were cautious about

where they went and what they did; most of

this group routinely reduced risks by avoid-

ing particular types of people and places or

by not going out alone. Again, the levels of

caution and concern were higher amongst

women and the elderly, while as many as 33

per cent of all women were fearful of beingthe victims of rape. Evidently, at a general

in their day-to-day lives (Mirrlees-Black e

al., 1996).

However, there exists an extensive crimi

nological literature on the denition of the

fear of crime, its causes and its spatial ex

pression. The literature offers more detailed

analytical insights into the phenomenon as abackground to the current investigation. In an

early review of the denition of the fear o

crime, Ferraro and LaGrange (1987) discuss

the f ears, which reect a general cognitive

perception of safety in ones neighbourhood

This denition has been used subsequently

by Rountree and Land (1996) as cognitive

fear equated with risk perception. Alterna

tively, fear of crime was also characterisedby Ferraro and LaGrange (1987) as being an

affective personal emotional reaction to the

possibility of being the victim of a specic

type of crime. Clearly, the distinction is a

very ne line, and has not been drawn by al

authors. Lotz (1979) and Gates and Rohe

(1987), for example, focus on the affective

dimension where

Fear of crime is the affective experienceassociated with the perceived personal risk

of victimisation (Gates and Rohe, 1987

p. 427).

Such feelings have been almost universally

demonstrated to be highest amongst women

and the elderly, although this has not been

reected in commensurate levels of victimis

ation. Conversely, young males have ex

pressed low levels of fear despite being mos

at risk of personal victimisation. Most o

these early investigations have tended to re

gard this situation as paradoxical, which has

been seen as reecting primarily the per

ceived relative vulnerability of these groups

However, more recent realist evaluations of

the apparent disjunction between the level

of the fear of crime and the objective mea

sures of risk levels are less sure of the existence of the irrationalities expressed by


9/28


being somehow paradoxical. A similar view

was expressed earlier by Nasar and Fisher

(1993, p. 188):

By over-reacting to the potential threats in

the many situations where no real threat

exists, they may save themselves fromattack in the unlikely situation of real

danger.

Such tactics, in themselves, imply a

signicant restriction on potential normal

patterns of behaviour. Likewise, it is postu-

lated that intolerance to violence and

threatening situations is lowest amongst

women and the elderly, relative to the

machismo values expressed frequently bymany young men.

Fear of crime is, therefore, neither auton-

omous from, nor a simple reex of, risk of

crime (Young, 1997, p. 491).

In effect, it is currently unclear whether the

emotional perception of fear of crime

amongst different groups of the population is

ill-founded or not. This creates a fundamen-tal methodological problem for the measure-

ment of the fear of crime due to the difculty

of distinguishing between fear which reects

feelings of vulnerability and that which

relates to a calculated perception of risk

(Zedner, 1997).

The causes of the fear of crime are an

equally complex issue, which continues to be

problematic in detail. Contemporaneous re-

views by Smith (1987), Gates and Rohe

(1987) and Box et al. (1988) highlight a

similar array of complex interactive

causative factors. An important dimension of

the generation of the fear of crime is ac-

cepted as being socially constructed since it

has been widely shown to vary in relation to

gender, age and ethnic identity in relation to

the perception of threat. High levels of fear

are displayed amongst all these groups,reecting their perceptions of vulnerability in

1987), while constraints on f emale behaviou

have been characterised as the spatial ex

pression of patriarchy (Valentine, 1989

p. 315; Valentine, 1992; Pain, 1991, 1997).

Environmental cues are also seen as fear

generators associated with a combination o

physical and social incivilities (Skogan1990; LaGrange et al., 1992). Signs of physi

cal decline, which can signify threat, include

evidence of vandalism and the presence o

litter, grafti and vacant premises. Together

these suggest a lack of neighbourhood co

hesion or social disorganisation (Herbert

1993). Similarly, threat can be signalled so

cially by the presence of undesirables such

as aggressive beggars, drunks, prostitutesdrug addicts and even noisy or loitering

youths (Nasar and Fisher, 1993). These idea

have been developed further in an even more

spatially explicit manner in the eld of en

vironmental criminology and environmenta

psychology. Brantingham and Brantingham

(1993), for example, indicate the manner in

which crimes cluster in relation to nodes

paths and edges in the urban environmenwith the result that certain locations can

emerge as fear-generators. At a more detailed

scale, the importance of micro-proximate

cues for the generation of hot spots of fea

on a University campus have been suggested

(Nasar and Fisher, 1993; Fisher and Nasar

1995). In this situation, areas of blocked

prospect generate fears of what may lie

around the next corner, while opportunitie

of concealment of potential assailants were

equally important. Bounded space, which

offers little opportunity for escape, was also

noted as a particularly important fear

generator. In effect, the micro-spatial charac

teristics of place and setting are seen a

going a long way towards an understanding

of the spatial and temporal distribution o

fear.

In addition, fear of crime may reect anorganisational dimension which is associated


10/28


experiences of individuals, and this has two

dimensions (Smith, 1987). Individuals who

have suffered direct victimisation are likely

to have a heightened awareness of threat and

fear, while the vicarious knowledge of the

victimisation experiences of f riends and rela-

tives is also likely to have a similar effect.However, the link between victimisation ex-

perience and fear of crime is complex and

tenuous rather than directly predictable as

implied in the earlier literature (Skogan,

1987; Newhart-Smith and Hill, 1991; Norris

and Kaniasty, 1994). The inuence of the

reporting of crime in the media can also

generate fear amongst individuals. This is

illustrated particularly by the manner inwhich the newspapers, television and radio

periodically mount campaigns against crime

and related social issues, which highlight

awareness. The creation of moral panics by

the media has the potential to heighten the

fear of specic crimes, whether or not they

are well-founded in risk assessment

(Williams and Dickinson, 1993; Levi, 1997).

Clearly, there has been considerable inves-tigation of the denition, causes and spatial-

ity of the fear of crime in a variety of

academic disciplines. However, the complex

interactions between many of the issues

raised here remain unresolved (Hough,

1995). The denition of the fear of crime and

its measurement remain problematic, as do

the apparent irrationalities between levels of

fear and levels of risk. Similarly, it is also

difcult to decipher the relative importance

of the causative factors. Likewise, despite the

emergence of a number of valuable insights

concerning environmental cues and the spa-

tiality of fear, none of the existing analyses

relates to the specics of the city-centre

shopping environment either by day or by

night.

However, while the resolution of these

issues are of continuing criminological im-portance, they are not of central concern for

have been used to provide valuable contex

tual insights into the dimension of fear per

taining to the current study, the paper doe

not seek specically to clarify the complex

interrelationships between the issues raised

Instead, the more pragmatic perspective o

Tuan (1979) is taken that, whatever theramications behind the denition and the

explanations for the fear of crime, it is now

recognised by the police as a signicant so

cial problem in itself, particularly in relation

to the manner in which it can place restric

tions on lawful patterns of social and econ

omic life for signicant sections of the

community in a variety of urban situations. A

similar view was expressed more recently byZedner (1997, p. 587) that

Fear of crime is a distinct social problem

extending well beyond those who have

actually been victimised to affect the lives

of those who perceive themselves to be a

risk.

Thus, consistent with the views of Smith

(1987) and Gates and Rohe (1987), the studyregards fear as the emotional response to

threat or possible victimisation in a variety o

circumstances relating to the use of, mode

of access to, and the spatial attributes of, the

city centre at night.

The Swansea and Cardiff Research

The two largest cities in south Wales

Swansea and Cardiff, were the focus of the

research. Both have traditional central busi

ness districts that serve as the principal com

parison and speciality shopping centres fo

the immediate urban and surrounding re

gional population. Swansea is the smalle

and serves the whole of the former county of

West Glamorgan (1991 population: 361 428

(OPCS, 1994) and the adjacent parts of Car

marthenshire, Powys and the south Walevalleys within a 15-mile radius (an additiona


11/28


gional status in 1995 (Hillier Parker Re-

search, 1996). Cardiff is larger with an im-

mediate urban population of 279 055 in

1991, while also serving as the regional

shopping centre for the BridgendVale of

Glamorgan area to the west, the coaleld

valleys to the north and the Newport areato the east (an additional population of

969 970). This is reected in the thriving

central area, graded 8th in Britain, with a

multiple branch score count of 115 (Hillier

Parker Research, 1996).

The city centre of Swansea is relatively

spatially diffuse. Extensive wartime bombing

destroyed the greater part of the old shopping

core, but the opportunity to create a compac

redeveloped town centre was missed. In

stead, the two dual-carriageway roads of the

Kingsway and Princess Way, which werecentral to the reconstruction strategy, presen

barriers to pedestrians and separate the new

retail core of Oxford Street and the redevel

oped market from the older High Street

Wind Street axis (Figure 1). Availability of


12/28


Figure 2. Cardiff city centre: areas considered particularly unsafe after dark.

land for additional retail development in the

1970s dictated that the Quadrant Centre

(27 840 square metres) was slightly offset

from the new core, while the smaller St

Davids Centre (12 990 square metres) was

not strongly integrated with the rest of the

city-centre facilities. More recently, there has

been a general improvement in the environ-

mental condition of the city centre. This has

been associated primarily with the develop-

ment of a pedestrian priority scheme, but the

ve principal multistorey car parks (c. 2700spaces) are somewhat displaced from the

ning policies, has a relatively compact shop

ping centre, closely integrated with car parks

and public transport (Figure 2). The early

northsouth retail axis of St Mary Street

High Street and its 20th century extension

eastwest along Queen Street, provided the

opportunity to ll the angle between the two

axes with modern retail development. Th

opening of the St Davids Centre in 1981

(42 000 square metres) was the rst majo

step in the creation of a compact core (Guy

and Lord, 1993). Complementary planningpolicy has accentuated the compact retai


13/28


1997). The Central railway and bus station is

also located near to the southern edge of the

retail core, while the suburban Queen Street

railway station is immediately adjacent to the

western edge of the retail core.

Over the past 25 years, both city centres

have felt the competitive impact of retaildecentralisation typical of all British cities.

This was given particular impetus in

Swansea in the 1980s with the development

of the Enterprise Zone retail park, now con-

taining in excess of 44 000 square metres

(gross oorspace) (West Glamorgan County

Council, 1993). Similar processes have, how-

ever, also been evident in Cardiff (Lord and

Guy, 1991), and the largest decentralisedconcentration of retailing at Culverhouse

Cross is rapidly approaching the scale of the

Swansea Enterprise Zone. At the same time,

both cities have experienced the same array

of economic, social and cultural changes dis-

cussed above. The respective planning au-

thorities of each city have been concerned to

retain the vitality and viability of the city

centres, and it was within these circum-stances that the current research was under-

taken.

The Surveys

This paper forms part of a research pro-

gramme extending over the period 199399,

focusing on issues of safety and revitalisation

in the city centres of Swansea and Cardiff.

This comprises a number of initial interview

surveys, which have been supplemented by

interviews with key informants. A detailed

household questionnaire was undertaken in

Swansea and a more extensive on-street sur-

vey in Cardiff. The Swansea questionnaire

was administered to the principal shopper in

433 households in late 1993 and early 1994.

These represent a 10 per cent sample drawn

randomly from 4 broadly representative butcontrasting types of urban residential area.

ucational characteristics of the households

Their interrelationships were analysed using

factor analytical techniques, and a cluste

analysis procedure was used to categorise the

social areas in the city. The 4 survey areas

included a low-status inner-city location, a

local authority housing estate, a high-statusuburb and a high-status ruralurban fringe

area. A wide range of questions was asked

relating to the characteristics of the respon

dents and their patterns of usage of the city

centre for shopping, leisure and entertain

ment activities. For the purposes of the cur

rent paper, the analysis focuses on a numbe

of interrelated issues. Variations in the socia

characteristics of the earlier-evening andlater-night-time users of the city centre are

examined to determine whether there are

signicant socio-temporal divisions which

actually or potentially act as exclusionary

barriers to the realisation of a comprehensive

evening and night-time economy. For simila

reasons, this is followed by an analysis of the

attitudes of respondents to the nature of, and

degree to which, safety considerations generate fears or anxieties relating to their use o

the city centre in the evening and at night

The emotional reactions of respondents are

elicited to a series of attitude statements re

lating to aspects of the city-centre environ

ment and associated travel arrangements. In

order to examine the spatiality of fear in the

city centre, respondents were also asked to

indicate the degree of anxiety or safety they

felt in 10 key locations after dark. This wa

supplemented by questions relating to the

locations of experiences of personal threa

experienced by the respondents or reported

by close friends. This array of information i

the primary focus of this paper. The Cardiff

survey comprised an on-street survey o

1564 shoppers approached throughout the

city centre on 5 days, Wednesday through

Saturday (2), in March and April 1994. Inthis case, however, only a limited number o


14/28


same South Wales research project, there are

methodological differences between the two

surveys. The degree of attention, for exam-

ple, given by respondents interviewed in

their home situation is likely to be greater

than in an on-street survey, while the on-

street survey has a greater potential to gener-ate a biased sample than a census-selected

household survey. Similarly, interviewer bias

in the case of the on-street survey is also

possible due to the need to staff multiple

sites simultaneously. Nevertheless, in both

cases the vast majority of respondents were

regular visitors to the respective shopping

centres and were, therefore, likely to be fam-

iliar with the city-centre environments. ForSwansea, 93 per cent visited the city centre at

least once a month, while the comparable

gure for Cardiff was 83 per cent. The social

characteristics of the two sets of respondents

were also broadly similar (Thomas and

Bromley, 1996). However, this paper does

not claim to offer a comparative analysis of

the two city centres. The analysis focuses

unequivocally on the Swansea data, with thelimited Cardiff information introduced inter-

mittently only for the broader perspective it

offers. Interpretation of both the Swansea

and Cardiff data was provided with addi-

tional insights from a series of interviews

with key personnel from the local authorities,

retail and car park managers, and the police.

Evening and Night-time Use of the CityCentre

The survey of Swansea residents indicated

that the majority (62 per cent) rarely visit the

city centre in the evening. However, a

signicant minority visited at weekly or

more frequent intervals (17 per cent), while a

further 21 per cent undertook fortnightly or

monthly visits. Also, consistent with the

ndings reported in previous studies, themore regular visitors were disproportionately

and social class of respondents rejected the

null hypothesis at p5 . 99.9 per cent. How

ever, for none of these characteristics was the

degree of imbalance consistent with a stereo

typical dominance suggested in the previou

literature. For example, while 33 per cent of

the respondents were aged 1629 years, 46per cent of the most frequent visitors to the

city centre were recorded in this age-group

This degree of imbalance was typical for al

the characteristics noted above.

An analysis of the reasons for the evening

visits to the city centre also proved instruc

tive. The most commonly cited reasons were

associated with visits to the earlier-evening

venues of theatres, restaurants, late shoppingcinemas and pubs, ranging from 22 per cen

to 31 per cent of respondents (Table 1). The

later-night activities associated with nigh

clubs were cited by signicantly fewer re

spondents (11 per cent), while only smal

minorities visited the city centre for bingo (4

per cent), social clubs (2 per cent) and cafe

(1 per cent). However, cross-tabulations o

the most commonly visited facilities in relation to the gender, age-structure, social class

characteristics and frequency of visit of the

respondents revealed interesting variation

(Table 1). Gender imbalances were largely

insignicant, with the minor exception o

those visiting pubs. In this case, there was a

slight tendency for more than expected num

bers of males to indicate this reason fo

visiting the city centre (p . 95 per cent)

Evidently, for the most part, the range o

leisure facilities currently available in the

city centre is equally attractive to both males

and females.

However, this pattern was not repeated fo

age variations. In this case, each of the mos

commonly used facilities has substantially

different appeal for the range of age-groups

and a complex pattern of variation is re

vealed (Table 1). The theatre, for example, ivisited most by the middle and older age


15/28


Table 1. Reasons cited for visits to the city centre of Swansea in the evening and at night: cross-tabulationwith social characteristics and frequency of visits

Variables cross-tabulated with reason for visits

Reasons Percentage of Gender Age Social class Frequency of visit(N5 433) respondents (df 5 1) (df 5 2) (df 53) (df 5 2)

Theatre 31.2 *** m, o *** I, II * f Restaurants 28.9 *** m *** I, II *** f Late shopping 24.9 *** y, m * f Cinema 22.4 *** y *** I, II *** f, wPubs 21.5 * male *** y *** IV, V, u *** wNight clubs 11.1 *** y *** *** w

***indicates signicant at the 99.9 per cent level; * indicates signicant at the 95 per cent level.Notes: Annotations indicate positive imbalances of the characteristic indicated:Age: y5 youthful (1629 years); m5middle-aged (3059 years); o5old (. 60 years).

Social class: I, II5 professional and semi-professional occupations; IV, V5 semi-skilled and unskilledu5 unemployed.Frequency of visit: f5 fortnightly and monthly; w5weekly or more.Source: Swansea household interview survey, 1993/94.

and night clubs draw their clientele largely

from the youthful group (1629 years). For

example, 30 per cent of the latter group visit

the night clubs compared with a gure of 11per cent for the whole sample.

Similarly, large variations are related to

differences in social class (Table 1). Late-

night shopping is the only activity that has

equal appeal to all the social class categories.

For the remaining activities, a distinct pattern

emerges. Visits to the theatre, to restaurants

and to the cinema have particular appeal for

those in professional and semi-professional

occupations (social classes I and II). By con-

trast, near double the average gures are

cited for visits to pubs and night clubs by

respondents from social classes IV and V,

and the unemployed.

The relationship between the frequency of

visits and the most common reasons for visit-

ing the city centre reveals an additional dif-

ference between the early-evening and

later-night-time activities (Table 1). Therewas a signicant tendency for the earlier-

compared with the average of 29 per cent)

By contrast, visitors to the pubs and nigh

clubs were disproportionately drawn from

those visiting at weekly or more frequenintervals (respectively, 47 per cent compared

with an average 22 per cent; and 28 per cen

compared with 11 per cent). Cinema visitor

tend to form a transition group, whereby the

moderately frequent visitors dominate (47

per cent compared with the average 22 pe

cent), but many of the most frequent visitor

to the city centre are also cinema-goers (35

per cent).

Evidently, only a minority of residents of

Swansea regularly visits the city centre fo

evening and night-time activities. Of these

there is a tendency for the facilities to be

frequented most by males, the younger age

groups and the lower-status and the unem

ployed, although the imbalances do no

achieve the stereotypical levels associated

with the perception of an exclusionary youth

culture. However, the evidence reveals theexistence of a socio-temporal division of ac


16/28


older and higher-status respondents. These

also tend to be the activities that are used

with only moderate frequency. On the other

hand, the later-evening and night-time activi-

ties associated with the pubs and night clubs

have greatest appeal for the youthful and

lower-status groups, and are visited by bothgroups with the greatest regularity.

Attitudes to Evening Visits to the City

Centre

To supplement the information derived from

the analysis of the use of the city centre in

the evening and night, the Swansea residents

were asked to respond to a number of state-ments in relation to a ve-point scale, indi-

cating their attitudes to aspects of evening

visits. These focused primarily on fears con-

cerning their personal safety, but the related

issues of bus travel and car parking were also

included (Table 2).

A substantial proportion of respondents

tended to avoid shopping after 4pm (52 per

cent). This is the time when shops becomeless busy and there are fewer people on the

streets as those with child and other family

commitments begin to return home for the

evening. Evidently, the reduction in natural

surveillance tends to generate a degree of

avoidance behaviour by shoppers, which

reects a fear for their personal safety

(Thomas and Bromley, 1996). This obvi-

ously curtails the shopping day and begins to

create an activity hiatus between the day-

time and early-evening economy. However,

this tendency is least marked amongst the

moderate and most frequent evening visitors

(25 per cent and 35 per cent respectively).

This implies that a considerable effort will

need to be expended to ameliorate this prob-

lem since those who visit the city centre in

the evening least frequently are those most

likely to leave early (64 per cent).The problem in Cardiff is not as marked.

life to the centre. Cardiff has obvious ad

vantages over Swansea in this respect

Cardiffs f unction as a capital city has at

tracted a substantial commercial ofce func

tion to the margins of the city centre

(532 509 square metres) (Cardiff City Coun

cil, 1997). In addition, the University buildings and Civic Centre in the area

immediately to the north add signicantly to

this total (223 336 square metres and 76 730

square metres respectively). This contrast

with the much smaller commercial ofce

function in the city centre of Swansea (c

181 000 square metres) (City of Swansea

1988). At the same time, the Guildhall and

the former West Glamorgan County Counciofces are at a greater distance from the

centre of Swansea, while the University cam

pus is 1.5 miles away. The extension of the

vitality of central Cardiff after 4pm by

these advantageous circumstances is proba

bly accentuated by the higher overall percep

tion of safety associated with the compac

city centre (Thomas and Bromley, 1996).

Concern for personal safety for eveningvisits to Swansea is even greater. A substan

tial 59 per cent of respondents claim tha

they would never visit alone in the evening

with this attitude again most marked amongs

the least frequent visitors (70 per cent

(Table 2). A similarly high proportion (58

per cent) consider the city centre to be par

ticularly dangerous in the evening, although

in this instance there is not a signican

variation in relation to frequency of visit

(Table 2). Nevertheless, this compares very

unfavourably with the 7 per cent of shopper

who consider the city centre dangerous dur

ing the day. In addition, there is near

universal agreement that a more obviou

police presence at night would decrease

anxiety (88 per cent). Clearly, the darker and

lonelier circumstances of the city by nigh

(Pain, 1997; Oc and Tiesdell, 1997b), combined with low levels of custodianship (Box


17/28

1419CITY-CENTRE REVITALISATION

Tab

le2.

Attitudestosafetydurin

gvisitstoSwanseaintheev

ening

Chi-squared

value

Percentage

Percentag

e

(2degreesoffreedom)a

uestionnairestatement(N5

433)

whoagree

whodisagree

againstfrequencyofvisit

tendto

avoidshoppingafter4p.m.

51.5

(29.

2)

46.2

(59.6)

44.6

***

(Card

iffresponsesN5

1557)

would

nevervisitthecitycentre

58.9

38.3

41.7

***

alone

intheevening

dontthinkthecitycentreisparticularly

28.4

58.1

6.5

dange

rousintheevening

more

obviouspolicepresenceonthestreets

87.7

8.7

0.4

would

increasemyfeelingsofsafety

feelsa

feinthecitycentreintheev

eningin

83.9

11.0

14.9

***

theco

mpanyofothers

am

deterredfrom

usingbusestovisitthecity

41.6

52.6

11.4

**

centre

intheeveningsbyfearsfor

mysafety

am

uneasyaboutthesafetyofmycar

89.2

7.7

2.2

when

leftinthecitycentreonaneveningvisitb

hereis

noneedforcarparkstobe

3.4

93.0

1.2

mannedintheevenings

Chi-squ

aredvaluecalculatedomittin

gnostrongviewresponses.

Remainingfourattitudecate

goriesreducedtotwoforthe

purposesof

estatisticalanalysis.

N5

297asthisstatementwasnotrelevanttotheremainingrespondents.

**indicatessignicantatthe99.9p

ercentlevel;**indicatessignicantatthe99percentlev

el.

ource:

Swanseahouseholdinterview

survey,

1993/94.


18/28


Table 3. Modes of travel to Swansea by day and night (percentages)

Mode Car Bus Taxi Walk Lift N

Day 60.5 25.5 0.7 10.2 2.5 433Night 61.3 12.1 10.2 9.0 2.5 323a

a

Excludes respondents who never visit the city centre at night.Source: Swansea household interview survey, 1993/94.

their safety is not at issue, an attitude that is

most strongly expressed by the frequent visi-

tors. In general, however, fear for personal

safety appears to present a powerful barrier

to visits to the city centre at night, a barrier

which is perceived most strongly by thoseinfrequent visitors whom ameliorative poli-

cies would seek to attract.

Evening and Night-time Travel to the City

Centre

Ease of safe access to the city centre is

recognised as necessary for the promotion of

a thriving night-time economy. The usualmodes of transport used by evening and

night-time visitors to Swansea differ

signicantly from those used by the day-time

visitors (Table 3). Overall, the car is still

predominant (61 per cent), but fewer travel

by bus (12 per cent) and more use taxis and

lifts (13 per cent). At rst sight, therefore,

travel by bus appears to offer little attraction

for the night-time visitor. However, it is no-

table that the pattern for the most frequent

night-time visitors is signicantly different

from the night-time norm (v25 25.0 with 8

df, p.99 per cent). For the frequent visitor

the bus reasserts its importance (23.6 pe

cent), while car-borne journeys decline to 43

per cent.

However, it is likely that this modal shif

is a reection of the lower levels of caownership typical of the younger and lower

status groups rather than reecting strong

preferences for the use of buses. In fact

substantial proportions of those regularly us

ing buses to travel to the city centre at nigh

expressed feelings of anxiety with aspects of

their journeys, particularly in relation to loca

tions within the city centre (Table 4). These

feelings were even more marked amongst theless frequent evening visitors, and in both

cases were far in excess of the levels o

anxiety expressed by day-time visitors. Evi

dently, certain aspects of a bus journey into

the city centre at night appear to be a

signicant obstacle to the generation o

higher levels of activity, particularly amongs

those who are currently infrequent visitors

These ndings were conrmed by responses

of all respondents to the broader attitude

statement relating to the possible use of bu

transport for evening visits to the city centre

Table 4. Attitudes to safety with bus travel (percentage expressing anxiety)

NightDay

All respondents Weekly or more Less frequent

Situation (N5 433) (N5 27) (N5 102)

W iti t h t 4 6 29 6 40 2


19/28


(Table 2). Nearly 42 per cent were deterred

from using buses to visit the city centre due

to fears for their safety, and this was again

signicantly more marked for the least fre-

quent visitors (49 per cent) (Table 2).

For evening and night-time visitors who

arrive by car, aspects of car parking in thecity centre of Swansea at night are even less

inviting. Parking in a multistorey car park

engendered feelings of anxiety amongst a

substantial 77 per cent of respondents, irre-

spective of their frequency of visit (v25 9.2

with 4 df, p, 95 per cent). For open-air car

parks the situation was not perceived as quite

so dire, although 60 per cent also expressed

anxiety, a level which was again largely in-variant with respect to frequency of visit

(v258.1 with 4 df, p, 95 per cent). The

situation in Cardiff was slightly less prob-

lematic. Nevertheless, 61 per cent of respon-

dents expressed anxiety at using the

multistorey car parks at night, while 54 per

cent of those using open-air car parks ex-

pressed a similar view. The Cardiff ndings

are particularly instructive since the safetyaspects of multistorey car parking in Cardiff

are considered to be amongst the best in

Britain (Bromley and Thomas, 1997). By

contrast, day-time parking by shoppers in

Swansea and Cardiff generated far lower lev-

els of anxiety (Thomas and Bromley, 1996).

The prospect of being alone in a multistorey

car park, for example, generated anxiety

amongst only 22 per cent of the Cardiff

respondents, although this rose to 40 per cent

for the particularly problematic multistorey

car parks in Swansea.

The responses to the attitude statements by

both existing and potential evening visitors

to Swansea city centre revealed even less

promising prospects (Table 2). The vast ma-

jority (89 per cent) expressed unease about

the safety of their car, irrespective of the

frequency of their visits. A similar sentimentwas evident from the equally high and invari-

night-time economy, and are a direc

reection of their pragmatic modernist de

sign characteristics dating from a time when

safety considerations were of less concern. In

the current social milieu, low levels of light

ing, lonely stairwells, separation of the ca

parks from trip-destination points via lonelywalkways, and low levels or absence of se

curity staff are clear perceptual barriers to

prospective users by day or by night. Cer

tainly, design sensitivity to fear-generation

appears to have a long way to go in Swansea

and Cardiff if car parking provision is to

assist the revitalisation of a night-time econ

omy.

The Spatiality of Anxiety and Threat in

the City Centre after Dark

The spatiality of anxiety and threat in the city

centre of Swansea at night was also explored

to develop additional insight into the oppor

tunities and obstacles to the development of

the night-time economy. The centre was div

ided into 10 identiable sub-areas, and respondents were invited to indicate the

degree, across a 5-point scale, to which they

felt anxious for their personal safety in these

areas after dark.

Levels of anxiety in the core shopping

areas of the city centre during the day were

generally low (27 per cent), and, apart from

a problematic subway (40 per cent), rose to

only 16 per cent for a small number o

peripheral locations. A similar situation ha

also been noted previously for Cardif

(Thomas and Bromley, 1996). After dark

however, the situation was fundamentally

different and consistent with the substantially

higher levels of perceived danger indicated

in the previous sections, and with the obser

vations of Pain (1997) with respect to women

and to Oc and Tiesdells (1997b) nding

from Nottingham. All 10 areas generatedsubstantial levels of anxiety, ranging from 37


20/28


more central parts of the shopping area fo-

cusing on Oxford Street and Princess Way

generate the lowest levels of anxiety ranging

from 37 per cent to 45 per cent, while the

adjacent parts of High Street south and

Kingsway east display only a slightly higher

level of 57 per cent. By contrast, the prob-lematic peripheral areas noted for the day-

time situation, also record signicantly

higher gures at night (6679 per cent)

(Figure 1). With the exception of the St

Davids Centre, the higher levels of anxiety

after dark are associated with the areas con-

taining the highest concentrations of night-

time activities. Kingsway west contains the

largest concentration of public houses andlate-night clubs, while Wind Street and High

Street north are also the foci of secondary

concentrations of pubs, clubs and restaurants.

The high levels of anxiety are consistent with

the fears associated with similar exclusion-

ary monocultural concentrations noted in

most other major British cities (Oc and Ties-

dell, 1997a). In the case of Swansea at least,

these areas also coincide with the greatestconcentrations of violent incidents reported

to the police, and which are regularly re-

ported as such in the local press (Millie,

1997). Thus, the spatiality of fear is consist-

ent with the distribution of hot spots of

violent crime (Brantingham and Branting

ham, 1993). In addition, the bus station

which is the likely principal trip-termination

point for 24 per cent of the most frequen

visitors to the city centre after dark, i

viewed in a particularly unfavourable ligh

(74 per cent). This area was also noted as aproblem area during the day (Thomas and

Bromley, 1996). This reects a general lack

of custodianship since it is not regularly

manned by either the security staff or the

police; a situation which is exacerbated a

night by the lower levels of activity and

associated lack of natural surveillance (New

man, 1972).

It is also notable that the areas most likelyto be visited tend to be those exhibiting the

greatest variation in the anxiety levels rela

tive to the frequency of visits (Table 5). On

the positive side, the most frequent visitor

consistently record the lowest levels of dis

quiet, possibly reecting the machismo atti

tudes of the frequent night-time visitor

although the relatively favourable experi

ences of this group cannot be discountedfrom the data available. For Wind St, fo

example, only 55 per cent of the most fre

quent visitors express anxiety, while thi

rises progressively to 81 per cent for the leas

frequent visitors. Evidently, lower levels o

Table 5. Anxiety levels generated in the city centre of Swansea after dark

Chi-squared valueSub-area Percentage Percentage ( 2 degrees of f reedom)a

(N5 433) anxious safe against frequency of visit

St Davids Centre 79.2 17.9 11.0**Wind Street 74.2 24.0 18.5***Bus station 73.8 24.2 13.7***High St North 72.8 24.7 17.6***Kingsway West 65.5 29.9 12.3**High St South 56.8 38.0 11.1**Kingsway East 56.8 37.6 6.9*Princess Way 44.5 49.0 2.5

Oxford St West 43.9 50.1 7.3*Oxford St East 37.0 55.8 9.6**


21/28


visiting are associated with higher percep-

tions of disquiet. It is not possible to deter-

mine whether the higher levels of anxiety

reect false perceptions due to infrequent

visits or bad experiences in the past. Either

way, however, for practical planning pur-

poses the high levels of perceived anxietydisplayed by the least frequent visitors rep-

resent a formidable obstacle for the expan-

sion of night-time activities.

Respondents were also asked to indicate

whether they had been involved in situations

in the evening and night-time in which they

considered that their personal safety had

been at risk. In fact, only 13 per cent of

respondents recorded 54 such threats, mostof which occurred before midnight (39).

These were spread over 20 locations, all but

2 of which involved 3 or less incidents.

However, the remaining 2 locations indicate

concentrations consistent with the broader

patterns of anxiety already noted. The con-

centration of pubs and late-night clubs on the

western margin of the Kingsway was the

scene of 37 per cent of these incidents, whilethe bus station accounted for a further 17 per

cent. A similar situation was suggested by

incidents reported by the friends of 9 per cent

of the respondents. Of the 38 incidents of

threat, 34 per cent occurred in the Kingsway

and a further 10 per cent in the bus station,

while the peripheral St Davids Centre was

added to the list (10 per cent). Evidently,

experiences of threat by those visiting the

city centre after dark are at a relatively low

level, and are far more spatially concentrated

than the perception of anxiety, although it is

notable that these locations are the principal

hot spots of violent crime in the city centre

(Millie, 1997). This is consistent with the

ndings reported in the criminological litera-

ture which suggest that levels of anxiety and

fear far exceed the actual risk of harm,

whether this is rational or not (Young,1997; Zedner, 1997). This implies that policy

Similar, but not precisely equivalent, in

formation relating to the perception of threa

in the city centre after dark was also obtained

from the Cardiff shopper survey. In this case

respondents were presented with an open

ended opportunity to indicate one or more

locations which they considered to be veryunsafe at night, rather than being asked to

indicate potential degrees of anxiety with a

xed number of areas. This approach proved

highly instructive, and 35 per cent of respon

dents recorded 552 responses relating to 33

specic locations. Twenty-seven were men

tioned by fewer than 10 respondents, and no

rm conclusions could be drawn from these

The remaining 5 locations, however, reveaclose parallels with the Swansea situation

The Caroline StreetMill Lane area ( 46 pe

cent) and the adjacent part of St Mary Stree

(24 per cent) accounted for the greatest con

centration of citations (Figure 2). This area

located on the south-west periphery of the

city centre, accommodates the largest con

centration of late-night clubs and pubs and

has, until recent improvements associatedwith the 24-hour city strategy, been a notori

ous and frequently reported hot spot fo

late-night violence (Nelson, 1998b). These

were followed closely by the Central Station

and bus station area (28 per cent), also in a

southern peripheral location. This is the leas

attractive periphery of the city centre and

evidently generates a degree of menace fo

a signicant minority of respondents. Th

generally run-down character of this area

along with the tendency for vagrants to con

gregate here, probably explains this situation

This is consistent with the negative effects o

adverse environmental cues widely noted in

the criminological literature in the context o

the incivilities hypothesis for the generation

of fear (Skogan, 1990). The only other areas

considered unsafe by a signicant number o

respondents were The Hayes (7 per cent) andQueen Street (5 per cent). The former is an


22/28


estingly, the perception of fear in the latter

cases are similar to the moderate levels of

anxiety generated in the secondary entertain-

ment areas of High Street and Wind Street in

Swansea.

The issue of safety in the centre of Cardiff

was developed further in an additional sec-tion of the questionnaire. This focused on the

respondents experiences of personal threat.

The main thrust of the on-street Cardiff sur-

vey was concerned with the shopping situ-

ation. Consequently, few respondents (2.5

per cent) recounted night-time experiences of

personal threat. However, those that did gen-

erally conrm the ndings of the previous

section. Forty-ve threatening incidents weredivided between 12 locations, but most fo-

cused on just 3 areas (Figure 2). The central

railbus station area tops the list (27 per

cent), and is closely followed by Queen

Street (24 per cent) and St Mary Street (20

per cent). A similar pattern emerges from the

70 incidents recorded by the friends of the

respondents. Again, many are spread across

17 locations, but concentrations occur in only4 areas. Queen Street (19 per cent), the rail-

way and bus stations (17 per cent) and St

Mary Street (17 per cent) almost equally

head the list, but Caroline Street (10 per cent)

is a notable addition. Evidently, like

Swansea, those areas most frequented at

night in Cardiff generated most fear. It is also

interesting to note that the perception of ar-

eas of personal threat are closely congruent

with the areas experiencing the highest con-

centrations of violent crime in the city cen-

tres at night (Brantingham and Brantingham,

1993; Millie, 1997; Nelson, 1998b).

Conclusions

The commercial signicance of the city cen-

tre has declined in most advanced Westerncountries over the past 30 years. In part, this

of the immediate population precipitated by

the suburbanisation of the higher-status mar

ket and its replacement by a lower-statu

population. The process has frequently been

accompanied by deterioration of the environ

mental attractions of the city centre. The

proliferation of a wide range of physical andsocial incivilities such as vacant premises

litter, grafti, vagrants and groups of youth

has become commonplace, particularly in the

peripheral areas. Fragmentation of city

centre functions and the creation of isolated

areas between the nodes of activity have

been marked features of the process. Shop

and entertainment facilities have often been

separated from car parks and bus stops, whilebarriers such as open spaces, subways and

wide roads associated with much post-wa

planning have exacerbated the situation. The

contemporaneous growth of fears for per

sonal safety, particularly amongst women

the elderly, and the better-off suburbanites

has generated anxiety and deterred these

groups from visiting the city centres, and

from using public transport and car parksThus, safety considerations have accentuated

the emerging problems of the city centre

when compared with the more easily access

ible and safer private realm offered in the

new decentralised retail, ofce and entertain

ment complexes.

These considerations are especially appo

site to many British cities at the present time

and special attention has been directed to

maintain and revitalise the centre as the com

mercial focus of urban life. An importan

element of such strategies has aimed to ex

tend the commercial day by reducing the

temporal divide associated with the 5pm

ight and by initiating strategies associated

with the 24-hour city concept. Ideally, cit

ies should aim to extend the activity period

into the evening and night by offering a

wider range of facilities likely to appeal to aswide a social spectrum as possible. However


23/28


viewed as monocultural and exclusionary,

primarily catering for a youth market, and

frequently characterised by a culture of male

domination, heavy drinking, drugs and viol-

ence. In effect, the safety considerations

which already have negative consequences

for the day-time vitality of city centres(Thomas and Bromley, 1996) are thought to

be an even greater impediment for the future

development of the night-time economy.

However, while there is little doubt that such

perceptions of the British city centre at night

are widespread, there is very little evidence

of the scale and nature of the problem. Such

information is essential to inform policy ini-

tiatives. This paper has sought to examinethese issues with reference to the middle-

ranking centre of Swansea and, to a lesser

extent, with reference to the major regional

centre of Cardiff.

In general, the problems associated with

the expansion of the night-time economy in

the two cities appear formidable. For

Swansea, only a minority of residents regu-

larly visited the city centre in the eveningand at night. Those who did, were dispropor-

tionately males from the younger age-groups

and lower social classes, although the degree

of imbalance was not as marked as the popu-

lar stereotypical image suggests. Neverthe-

less, the great majority of residents (62 per

cent) rarely participated in the night-time

activities. Also, the temporal gaps between

the various functions were considerable. The

tendency for shoppers to leave Swansea after

4pm was substantial, and signicant even for

the larger centre of Cardiff. Furthermore, a

distinct socio-temporal divide was apparent

between the early-evening visitors, who were

primarily drawn from the older and higher-

status groups; and the later-night arrivals,

who were more youthful and of lower status.

The temporal division was accentuated by

the fact that the early-evening visitors weresignicantly less frequent visitors than those

expressed by the Swansea respondents on a

variety of issues revealed deep disquiet by a

signicant majority. This was particularly

apparent for the relatively infrequent visitors

In effect, concerns for personal safety proved

to constitute a powerful barrier for the expan

sion of the night-time economy. These werefar in excess of anxieties generated during

the day. Similar obstacles were also revealed

for most aspects of travel to the city centres

Concern was signicant amongst bus passen

gers, but was even greater for users of both

multistorey and open-air car parks.

The spatial expression of anxiety was also

considerable for all areas of Swansea, and

was far in excess of the day-time levels. Thecity centre at night is widely perceived as a

threatening environment. This presents a for

midable barrier to further development, par

ticularly since the highest levels of anxiety

are expressed for those areas most visited a

night. The concentrations of public house

and late-night clubs, and the principal trans

port termini were perceived to be especially

problematic in both cities. Again, the facthat the least frequent visitors displayed the

highest levels of anxiety is an obstacle fo

the expansion of the market to include a

wider social spectrum. However, the experi

ence of threatening situations was at a fa

lower level than the perception of persona

threat. This implies that future developmen

tal policy needs to address mechanisms to

reduce the perception of threat, at least a

much as it does to control threatening situa

tions.

It is axiomatic in the literature relating to

the revitalisation of the British city centre

that a vital and viable city centre needs to be

perceived as safe at any hour of the day o

night, in all areas, and by all potential visi

tors. The evidence f rom Swansea and Cardif

broadly conrms the ndings of the previou

exploratory studies, and reveals a litany oproblems and obstacles to the realisation of a


24/28


implications emerge from the Swansea and

Cardiff examples. It is evident that an en-

hanced evening and night-time economy will

require a combination of: a wider range of

activities; a stronger residential function; im-

provements to accessibility; and a rmer

management of risk-perception and the asso-ciated re-imaging of the city centres. Each of

these strategies has important safety and se-

curity considerations.

Wider Range of Activities

The need for a wider range of early-evening

and late-night activities to reduce the existing

temporal activity gaps and to extend the ap-peal of the city centre across a wider social

spectrum, appears particularly apposite for

Swansea. The potential for a wider range of

late-night shopping presents an obvious op-

portunity. It is also notable that both

Swansea and Cardiff have already initiated

the development of cafe quarters in the

Wind Street and Mill Lane areas respect-

ively. However, this is not a particularly easypolicy to implement successfully. In

Swansea, for example, as in many other

British cities, the market for public houses

and clubs is currently the most buoyant sec-

tor for development. Consequently, initia-

tives designed to develop a wider range of

activities run the risk of merely accentuating

the existing monocultural dimension of the

night-time economy. This misgiving is a cen-

tral feature of the present debate on the revi-

talisation of central Swansea.

Residential Function

The repopulation of the city centre would

also add to levels of pedestrian activity

across a longer time-span. This is likely to

reduce anxiety by increasing informal natu-

ral surveillance. However, this has not yetbeen widely applied in Swansea, Cardiff or

and transport uses (Thomas and Bromley

1996). Equally, it is not clear from existing

schemes whether residential uses are entirely

compatible with the other functions of the

city centre. Early morning deliveries to shops

and street-cleaning activities are likely to be

a nuisance to residential areas, while thefall-out of many late-night activities is even

more potentially problematic.

Access Improvements

The need to undertake measures to alleviate

the anxieties of public transport passengers

also appears to require increased manning o

surveillance, both on the vehicles and

Date post:	10-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	jonathan-a-rozo-g
View:	214 times
Download:	0 times

City - Centre ion Fear in the Evening

Documents