Digitala BoTryggt - a project tool to create secure, safe and lively urban environments

Society has changed over the last decade and the possibilities for creating and maintaining secure and safe public environments for citizens have been dramatically challenged.

A changing demography, growing areas of exclusion, poorly maintained environments and widespread problems with order are some of the challenges.

The Swedish Crime Prevention Council´s National Security Survey shows, for example, that the proportion of population that has been the victim of crimes against individuals has increased from 11,3 percent in 2014 to 19,5 percent in 2021.

The proportion of households that have been the victims of property crimes has increased during the same period from 9,1 percent to 13,1 percent.

Looking at the fear of crime, the percentage who state that they are unsafe in their residential area at night has increased from 22 percent in 2014 to 27 percent in 2022.A consequence of the increased crime and insecurity is that parts of cities, as well as individual residential areas and neighborhoods with a high level of social problems risk getting bad reputation.

That leads to people feeling even more insecure and relocating, as well as reduced property values and reduced turnover for businesses in these areas.

Consequentially a negative spiral develops with even more increased crime and insecurity that risks further worsening the already serious situation.An important question in this context concerns the physical environment around city centers, as well as in residential areas and in public places and how the physical design of the places affects the risks of crime and insecurity.

There are many studies and experiences that show that the design of the physical environment contributes a lot to how people experience places and the opportunities for crime to be committed.

Thus, one-way municipalities, property owners and others building actors face the challenge in their cities, neighborhoods, residential areas, housing, schools, etc. is by integrating the crime prevention and safety-creating work in the planning process.

This project is about raising this awareness and developing a digital project tool based on a national standard that was previously developed by the Safer city foundation and a large number of actors in the planning, building and security branch.

The standard, called BoTryggt2030 shows how cities and residential areas can be planned, built and managed from a safety and security perspective.The project aims to increase knowledge about how the work for safe, secure and equal urban environments can be integrated into the planning and building process through a digital tool that can be used within new and ongoing planning and construction projects.The tool aims to meet the following needs:A clearer overview of safety and security issues in current and planned projects,a common place for information, planning and communication within planning and construction projects,a smoother work process and increased collaboration at work.The target group for the tool is the actors who directly or indirectly develop Swedish cities and municipalities and influence the formation and management of the physical environment.

This includes politicians, urban planners, architects, construction companies, property owners, property managers, police officers, tenant associations and companies, among others.Project activities primarily involve testing and evaluating an existing prototype, updating the content and developing a finished version, as well as disseminating the results at national and international level.Three actors representing the public sector, private sector and the civil society participate in the project which is expected to take about a year.