The Hindu published the final part of our 4-part series on the Aspirations and Anxieties round of the Lok Surveys on Friday February 27. The article, “Unsafe after sunset”, highlights how respondents answered the question, “What is the latest time that you feel safe returning home alone?” and was written by Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Neelanjan Sircar of CASI.

Our data also show that urbanisation is not a panacea for concerns about public safety. Rather, cities must invest in the “right kind” of urbanisation, with the sort of infrastructure seen in the largest cities. These cities have better amenities (such as street lights) and often have buses or even a metro that runs reliably until late at night. This demonstrates the positive secondary effects on the larger social environment when building infrastructure.

Follow the authors on Twitter: @MilanV @NeelanjanSircar

Read the other parts in the series:

Part 1: Being middle class in India

Part 2: Choosing thy neighbour

Part 3: The love for sons and appropriate attire

Read more about the Lok Pre-election Survey