Safety is one of the most fundamental criteria for a place to be liveable. By this we mean not only liveability of a place but also functionality or workability and habitability. For prosperous urban development, it is important for a city to be safe. Along with other aspects like hygiene, work place safety, clean resources for day to day livelihood etc. these factors may indirectly affect the health and safety aspect of an urban citizen.
Well, how safe is our city? Can we measure? Below are few points which indicates how safe our cities are,
When a city is well planned it is better controlled, thus safer. Let us elaborate. When a city is developed according to well curated plan it always takes into consideration of very important but basic safety points. Like, well lit city (to restrict burglary, and other anti-social activities) , roundabouts on the junction of roads, enough traffic signals, enough signages (to avoid accidents), enough help centres though out the city always makes a citizen feel safer in a city.
Police and allied armed forces are symbols of enough discipline available in the city. Frequent police patrolling, police help line booths available in every neighbourhood, enough traffic police available on every junction of the road, overall friendly and approachable police force makes a citizen feel safer in a city.
A city is liveable when basic amenities like, water, proper sanitation, electricity, housing establishment, public transport are easily available without the intervention of middle men. When such a economically viable situation is provided by the government and central system to their citizens, unscrupulous men intending to loot public from creating false scarcity of these basic amenities are barred from their activities. Thus making the city healthy and safe to live in.
Dr. Michele Acuto, (UN, urban safety) explains: “There is no safer-city agenda that can proceed without a social-equality agenda.”
This statement sums up the point quiet well. When a large number of youth is unemployed in a city, the anti-social activities take a rise, which in turn can make a city unsafe. It is always necessary to provide proper employment to the youth of the country as per their capabilities, and this responsibility primarily lies with the government of the country.
When fellow citizens have the awareness of feeling safe and feeling safe all together they exercise what is a process called, bystander intervention. It means, when a antisocial activity takes place the on-lookers or bystanders take a chance to either intervene or counter attack thus helping the victim to save himself. Although it may sound risky, but when implemented with the proper planning and aide from the fellow citizens and disciplinary forces the ill activity can be reverted.
Last but not the least, enough surveillance though out the city by means of enough CCTV cameras, nigh vision cameras, frequent police patrolling, frisking at important gateways, and availability of metal detectors.
Human tends to roam around the world and move on with their lives and livelihoods. In search of better life, goals of life or simply to answer the calling of life, people move on from one city to another. A city which welcomes you with its arms open is often regarded as our home away from home. Home is where our heart is. And without feeling safe one cannot call a place their home. So we can say, home is where safety is.