The Checklist

1. General Impressions

• What is your reaction to the place?
• Do you feel safe or unsafe in this area?

2. Lighting

• Is the level of lighting good enough to let you identify a face at a distance of 15 metres?
• Can you see into the back seat of a parked car?
• How even is the lighting? Are there pools of light and darkness?
• Are any lights out?
• If so, how many?
• If lights are out, is it due to equipment failure or damage?
• Do you consider that street lighting in the area is adequate?
• Are there bushes and trees that interfere with street lighting?
• In waiting areas like bus stops, taxi ranks and train stations does lighting put you in the spot-light (i.e. can anyone outside the area see you easily while you can not see anything outside)?

3. Sightlines

• Is it difficult to see what's ahead because of sharp corners, walls, hills, fences or bushes?
• As you walk through the public space, are there places someone could be hiding without you knowing it?
• Would you be able to see better if transparent materials were used instead of solid materials? (e.g. using lattice/perspex for bus shelter instead of solid material that cannot be seen through.)
• If there are surveillance cameras, are they located in the best places?
• Are the surveillance cameras monitored?
• Who monitors them?
• What happens if the monitor sees someone being harassed or assaulted?
• Could corners of buildings be angled so it's easier to see around them?
• Should there be security mirrors to let you see around corners?

4. Isolation from being seen / heard

• Are other people likely to be around during the day or late at night?
• How close is the nearest telephone if you needed to call for help?
• Is it near enough?
• How often is the area patrolled by security guards or police?
• Would a scream for help be heard by a person, such as a railway station officer or parking lot attendant?

5. Nearby Land uses

• Is there graffiti, litter or signs of vandalism which indicate no ownership over an area?
• Does the land seem owned and cared for, or is it desolate, abandoned place where unlawful activity might go unnoticed?
• Is there more than one way out of an area for a person who feels threatened?

6. Movement predictability

• Are there stairs, escalators, tunnels, lanes or paths that enable a potential offender to predict where the person will be in a short time?
• What is at the end/bottom of tunnels, walkways, stairs, lanes or paths etc.?
• Are there corners, recessed doors or bushes where someone could hide and wait for you?

7. Signs

• Are there enough signs and maps so that people can find their way around easily? (Being confused about where to go makes a person feel more vulnerable to harassment or assault).

8. Public transport stops

• Are public transport stops and pedestrian routes taken to and from them safe?
• Are these routes well enough lighted to identify a human face at 15 metres?
• Are there signs to guide you to destinations?
• Is there more than one route to the stop?
• Is it possible to change routes during a journey if it becomes necessary?

9. Overall Design

• Is it easy to find your way around?
• Public toilets -Are they isolated?
• How easy is it for an intruder to go into the toilets unnoticed?
• If there is an underground tunnel are there sufficient lights and mirrors?
• Are there a confusing number of different levels in the underground tunnel?
• Do you know where the entrance/exit of the tunnel is?
• Would things like landscaping, fences and better design make the place attract more people and be more user friendly?

10. Maintenance

• Look for things including: broken lighting; litter; broken windows; damage to telephones; and graffiti, as well as other aspects of urban decay.

11. Improvements

• What improvements would you like to see?
• Do you have any specific recommendations?

It is important to name a problem even when you don't have a solution.

Sometimes a place is so poorly designed that there are not any real solutions, only band-aids. Advising someone about the problem is the beginning of changing the way future buildings and public spaces are designed.

This checklist is not exhaustive and may be added to or modified to suit your local situation.