Female Pedestrians’ Perceived Safety and Environmental Preference on Campus Streets: An IVE-Based Quantitative Study Using the Prospect–Concealment–Escape (P–C–E) Framework

This study investigates how campus-street conditions, particularly nighttime lighting, are associated with women’s perceived safety and environmental preference through the Prospect–Concealment–Escape (P–C–E) framework. Using a photo-based immersive virtual environment (IVE), we created paired daytime and nighttime scenes from four university campuses and selected 18 representative street segments with substantial variation in spatial configuration and illuminance. Fifty-five female participants rated every scene in both conditions (990 ratings per condition). Because ratings were clustered by both participant and scene, we fitted cross-classified linear mixed-effects models with random intercepts for participants and scenes. Parallel mediation was then tested using mixed-effects path estimates and Monte Carlo confidence intervals for indirect effects. At night, higher illuminance was associated with higher perceived safety and environmental preference. This association operated partly through higher visibility and accessibility and lower concealment, although a significant direct effect remained. Time-of-day moderation was selective rather than uniform: visibility mattered more for preference at night, and concealment showed a stronger negative association with safety at night. Overall, the findings support gender-responsive campus street design and lighting strategies that improve legibility, maintain escape options, and reduce concealment.