The Sense of Safety and Active Leisure in Gated Enclaves: Evidence from Fuzhou University Campus

Scientific interest in how residential patterns affect both people’s subjective sense of safety and their behavior is increasing. The surge of gated communities in the world has changed the way we live to a great extent. Research on the gated development trend in postmodern cities is still limited; therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between residents’ attitudes toward gated enclaves and their sense of safety. At the same time, the relationship between a sense of security and active leisure behavior was also investigated. Using data collected from 350 college students in Fuzhou University Town, this study introduces a conceptual model to test the relationship between closed enclaves, campus security, and active leisure behavior while controlling population and community characteristics. The results of structural equation model analysis show that gated enclaves positively correlate with campus safety and positively correlate with active leisure behavior, and a safe campus positively correlates with active leisure behavior. The results of this study focus on the importance of gated enclaves as a living environment, and the discovery of functional characteristics of gated enclaves supports future interventions. In other words, when promoting active leisure behavior and increasing the sense of safety in the neighborhood environment, attention must be paid to the characteristics of these gated enclaves. In addition, the simultaneous measurement of these structures provides a dynamic observation of the existing environment, as well as information for future research and construction. Decision makers and urban planners can use these results to promote interaction and healthy behavior in the community under the multi-angle development of the existing access control, thereby improving residents’ sense of security, and increasing leisure participation.