Designing for Safety: A Feminist Approach to Campus Planning at Queen’s University

Women-identifying students are disproportionately impacted by harassment and assault in post-secondary settings, leading to heightened fear in public campus spaces. Safety concerns result in precautionary behaviours that limit their mobility and full participation in campus life, contributing to social and academic inequities compared to men-identifying students. This report examines Queen’s University’s Campus Master Plan and the built form of the Main Campus by identifying factors influencing women-identifying students’ perceptions of safety. The objectives of this research are to: 1) Identify the spatial components of Queen’s University’s Main Campus, particularly Snodgrass Arboretum, that influence women-identifying students’ perceptions of safety 2) Assess Queen’s University’s Campus Master Plan to determine its efforts in promoting campus safety 3) Offer recommendations to improve the built environment at Queen’s University and other institutions of higher education, creating a safer campus experience for women-identifying students. To achieve these objectives, several research methods were employed. An adapted version of METRAC’s Campus Safety Audit Guide was used to assess Snodgrass Arboretum—one of the campus’s largest green spaces. The audit, rooted in CPTED and PAR, allowed participants to serve as experts of experience, identifying factors within the site that made them feel safe and unsafe. A focus group debriefing session and mapping exercise supported audit findings and allowed for further discussion of emerging themes across the Main Campus. A document review of Queen’s Campus Master Plan examined the presence and quality of campus safety policies. Findings indicate opportunities to enhance perceptions of safety on campus through both design and policy interventions. Design-wise, improved visibility, the animation of spaces to encourage bystander presence, and increased maintenance of safety features emerged as prominent themes. Policy findings emphasized the need for stronger monitoring to ensure implementation, better advertising of safety guidelines, and the inclusion of a dedicated safety section within the Campus Master Plan. Eleven recommendations were developed not only to make Queen’s a safer campus but also to establish a benchmark for advancing campus safety at similar Canadian institutions. Violence against women is a systemic issue that cannot be solved by design or policy alone—but integrating these tools is a necessary step toward creating safer, more inclusive spaces for girls and women within our communities.

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