Safety, belonging and community: A walk with MSA, Footways and Living Streets
What does it mean to feel like you belong in a space? For many, it’s a sense of safety, familiarity and community. In a sprawling, busy city like London that can be hard to achieve.
Emina Redzepovic, Local Engagement Assistant, joined a photography walk through central London, organised in partnership with Muslimah Sports Association, Footways and Manor Park Living Streets Group coordinator Sylvie Belbouab. This event, which brought together a group of Muslim women, exemplified how community-led initiatives can empower individuals to explore new spaces with confidence.
I had the pleasure of enjoying a led walk to take in the green spaces and wide pavements on our route to the Metamorphosis Exhibition in the Saatchi Gallery.
The women who joined us for the day usually meet Sylvie, as walk leader, in Valentine’s Park in Redbridge to walk, chat and develop their photography skills. With their photos collated in a local exhibition it sparked the idea for a trip to see an exhibition, which many of the group have not done before.
Lots of the group said that they had never travelled independently to central London. Yet, as a part of their walking group, they felt emboldened to explore.
“Creative walking with photography gives you the space to slow down and get centered in the moment. Visual language can be used to communicate across cultures and barriers.” – Sylvie Belbouab.
Navigating the city
Despite initial apprehensions about navigating busy trains and unfamiliar areas, the group took the tube finding comfort in their shared purpose and companionship. Public transport is an essential part of travel and allows a massive city like London to be more accessible but many of the women told me that they didn’t usually venture into central London citing concerns about safety and a lack of belonging.
Yasmin said:
“This is the first time I’ve done something like this in the city centre because I don’t feel safe. I wear a headscarf and people look at me and it makes me uncomfortable. Now I’ve done this walk I feel more comfortable and in a couple of weeks I want to come back and do this by myself. More walks like this should be advertised and made available”.
What walks like this create is empowerment, confidence and a sense of collective belonging, you could feel the mood was buoyant and people were revelling in experiencing London in a different way.
Our walk started at Green Park, past Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park Corner, picturesque streets like Kinnerton Street, and new pedestrian spaces like Motcomb Street and Pavilion Road. It took in green spaces, historical monuments and affluent areas with inflated prices for ice cream outside of our budget!
What should have been a relatively short walk took much longer as the women paused frequently taking photographs and having discussions. What struck me was how much everyone was the slower pace allowed us to enjoy being outdoors, amongst each other with plenty of time to chat.
Fatimah said, “It was nice to get out of East London and be somewhere else, to walk and see new places, experiencing new and exciting atmospheres.”
Empowerment Through Walking
This walk was more than just a physical journey; it was a path to empowerment, confidence, and collective belonging. The atmosphere was buoyant, with everyone revelling in the experience of seeing London from a new perspective. As we moved from the busier streets to quieter, more affluent areas, the contrast was striking. Maryam noted:
“This street is so peaceful compared to where we’ve just come from, and I can’t quite believe that it wasn’t that far away from a major junction”.
I spoke to Shahanara as we were walking down a very affluent, pedestrianised street with lots of places to eat, drink and shop.
“This road is nice, but there might be a class issue as it’s a very rich area with people I would not normally mingle with, and I would feel uncomfortable if I was by myself but because I’m with the group I feel okay. In the evenings I would feel intimidated if I was to walk without my tribe, it’s not going to feel safe. London is my city, but if you are not familiar with an area and you don’t see lots of people then it can feel unsafe."
There was a sense from the women that they enjoyed walking in this area, with its wide pavements and quiet roads. Frequent places to stop and rest make walking more pleasurable and accessible for everyone.
Emma from Footways walking with some of the women
Mapping the way
Footways is a social enterprise with a mission to get more people walking played a crucial role in the experience. They create compelling walking networks; eye-catching maps; and work with partners to create safe, easy and enjoyable walking environments. The women used Footways maps to navigate our route.
Emma, co-founder of Footways said, “The women enjoyed using the maps and some said they would use them to come back into central London and plan more interesting walks with their families. The feeling was the map encouraged people to slow down and gave them the freedom to be more explorative.”
“Walking with these women gave me a new discovery of the route I had planned, the discussions around the war memorials and what parts of history are selected and celebrated on Hyde Park corner were enlightening, as were the observations about the surrounding landscape and how different groups of people experience spaces.”
The importance of community
We arrived at the Saatchi gallery, thirsty, hot but happy capturing the women’s art work in their own exhibition outside. This walk-through central London was more than a day out—it was a powerful reminder of the importance of community, safety, and belonging in public spaces. As Hafsa beautifully captured:
"It was lovely to amble through Central London with a group of women, taking the time to stop and look at things I would normally pass by in a rush. I loved taking the long way, caring about the journey as well as the destination."
For me, this was one of the most enjoyable walks I’ve done in a long time. It made me see and experience London in a new way, and I was inspired by the fresh perspectives of the women I walked with. I truly hope to meet these women again to explore more of the city together.
Some of us experience privilege that allows us to navigate public spaces without fear, but many in our society do not share that luxury. It’s essential to create the right infrastructure, design, and planning for public spaces and walking routes to ensure everyone feels safe and welcome. I can’t summarise the walk better than this beautiful poem by Nurjahan:
Getting lost in the hustle and bustle, Lovely conversation with lovely sisters
Feel refreshed, Beautiful sky
Trees, birds, saying hello
Relaxing, enjoying and appreciating art
A whisper, a song, a murmur, on the move
A walk, a step, a dance, a skip.
What next?
Living Streets is creating a manifesto for change so that we can influence those with decision making power to make streets more accessible and safer. The women were asked to take a photo of where they felt safer and where they didn’t along the walk. With their words and images captured they were are able to build a manifesto to take to the local authority, providing valuable insights into what needs to change.
With support from the European Climate Foundation, Living Streets is working with partner organisations to capture effective community engagement approaches. We want to empower people who are currently under-represented in transport and urban planning and clean air initiatives, to walk more challenge decision makers to make streets accessible and safer for women.
Join the Movement
If this story resonates with you, consider starting a local group in your neighbourhood. By coming together, we can create spaces of belonging and safety for all. To get involved or learn more, please get in touch.