The impact of Birmingham's Low Traffic Neighbourhoods on women’s safety

Cerys Atchison MRTPI will use her RTPI Practitioner Research Fund grant to examine how Birmingham’s Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) influence both actual safety and perceptions of safety, with a particular focus on women. As these schemes have now been in place for several years, and as the city prepares to introduce further modal filters and extensions, there is a timely opportunity to provide a deeper assessment of their social impact and their role in shaping everyday experiences of safety.

The study will integrate quantitative analysis of recorded violent and sexual crime with qualitative evidence gathered from residents and workers living in and around the LTNs. Surveys, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participatory mapping will be used to capture diverse experiences and to identify patterns in how people navigate their neighbourhoods.

The research will produce a transparent dataset, a replicable methodological framework and policy-relevant findings that can inform future planning, delivery and evaluation of LTNs.

Cerys said: “I’m delighted to receive this grant and to be working with the RTPI on a project that addresses an issue of growing importance in planning practice. Concerns about women’s safety in public space are well documented, yet there is still limited evidence on how large-scale street interventions such as Low Traffic Neighbourhoods shape people’s everyday experiences of feeling safe or unsafe. Birmingham’s LTNs provide a valuable opportunity to explore this in depth. My hope is that the findings will support planners in designing more inclusive and safe places.”