Recent research about the importance of knowing what actually makes people feel safe and its relevance for planning and policy decisions was highlighted at a recent conference about the popularisation of science for journalists, university press officers and researchers. Dr Ilona Suojanen, post-doctoral researcher at the Centre of Excellence in Public Safety Management, (CESAM), spoke at the Bessensap2019! conference in Amsterdam. Her presentation, titled Citizens’ positive safety perceptions in public spaces in Rotterdam presents safety as a key element of wellbeing, and is the result of her work for CESAM, which is based at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM). Her research will be published as a peer-reviewed paper in September.