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Research project

Public spaces are often described as open and accessible to everyone. In reality, however, they are experienced very differently by different people. My research explores why some public spaces invite women to stay, linger, and make a place their own, while others encourage them to simply pass through or even limit their presence.

Existing research has greatly improved our understanding of barriers to women’s use of public space, including fear, harassment, and safety. While this knowledge has informed important planning and design interventions, we still know relatively little about what enables women to actively inhabit public space on their own terms.

This PhD investigates this question through the concept of affordances – the possibilities for action that people perceive in relation to their environment. I study how spatial, social, and personal conditions come together to shape these perceived possibilities, influencing whether public spaces feel inviting, discouraging, or somewhere in between.

The research combines post-occupancy observations of public spaces, behavioural mapping, interviews with users and planners, and participatory methods to compare the intentions of designers with the everyday realities of public life. Ultimately, the project aims to contribute to more inclusive urban planning by identifying the conditions that enable women not only to move safely through cities, but also to stay, participate, build familiarity, and develop a sense of belonging in public space.

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About Olga

Olga a PhD candidate in Urban Studies with an interdisciplinary background in Architecture, Urban Planning, and Human Geography. She is fascinated by the everyday life of cities and by the subtle ways in which public spaces invite – or discourage – people to stay, interact, and make a place their own.

Her research explores how women experience and inhabit public space. Rather than focusing only on safety, Olga is interested in what enables people to feel comfortable enough to linger, build familiarity with places, and participate in public life. Bringing together perspectives from urban design and human geography, my work investigates how spatial, social, and personal conditions shape the affordances people perceive in public space.

Before starting my PhD, Olga worked for more than three years as an urban researcher and consultant at Stipo, where she contributed to projects on placemaking, participation, and inclusive public space. Researching creative placemaking at RAUM in Utrecht and supporting participation processes with municipalities and NGOs in Ukraine has strengthened my interest in connecting research with practice and learning from different urban contexts.

Olga enjoys spending time in streets, parks, and squares, observing everyday urban life. These observations continue to shape both my research questions and the way she approaches cities. Recently, Olga has become increasingly interested in creative and embodied research methods that can support meaningful conversations between researchers, designers, policymakers, and communities, helping translate research into practical and inclusive urban spaces.

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