Enhancing Women’s Movements : Problem-Based Prototype Development & Evaluation for Increased Sense of Personal Control After Dark

Women frequently report feeling unsafe when navigating outdoor environments after dark, often altering their behaviors to mitigate perceived risks. This thesis investigates how digital tools can be designed to enhance women’s situational sense of personal control (SPC) in such contexts. Focusing on women running in Jönköping, the study identifies key safety concerns through semi-structured interviews, revealing a desire for better information on street lighting. A problem-oriented digital prototype was developed to communicate lit-up running routes, and an experiment was conducted to evaluate its effect on users’ situational SPC. The prototype was tested in a between-subject experiment with two versions: one including streetlight data and one without. The results showed that participants who used the prototype featuring lighting information reported significantly higher levels of situational SPC. This finding suggests that digital artifacts tailored to real-world safety concerns can meaningfully enhance users' perceived control. The study underscores the importance of integrating context-sensitive safety features into fitness and navigation apps. Further, it implies opportunities for collaboration between cities and developers to highlight well-lit areas and routes to support mobility, especially for women.