VUB university maps sense of safety in Brussels with ‘Moment’ app

Researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) are today launching Moment, an innovative citizen survey that uses an app of the same name to map the sense of safety on the streets of Brussels. Anyone who regularly visits the Brussels-Capital Region can take part.

The aim of the project is to gain a better understanding of how feelings of safety differ in everyday life, which people feel unsafe where and why. These insights should contribute to a safer, more inclusive and accessible city.

The research by the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO) at the VUB aims to capture unsafe experiences in Brussels in real time using the “Moment” app. “The app is a scientific tool, but at the same time it is accessible and focused on what people really experience in public spaces,” explained Petrus te Braak, postdoctoral researcher at the university.

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“Moment” is a GPS-based app that presents participants with a short questionnaire at more than 100 locations in Brussels. When someone is at one of these locations, they receive a notification with four short questions about how safe they feel at that moment. This method of “real-time experience sampling” makes it possible to find out not only where people feel (un)safe, but also when and why.

The results will feed into public debate and policy with concrete insights to make the city safer, for example through better lighting, greater visibility, thoughtful spatial planning or targeted neighbourhood initiatives.

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The research period will run until the summer of 2026. The exact duration depends on participation rates and data collection needs. However, participants can only actively contribute for four weeks.

The responses will be processed and collected completely anonymously, with respect for the privacy of all participants. The first results of the study are expected in 2027.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Gare du Midi - Zuidstation (Brussels South) railway station © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}

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