Security Design in the Public Realm

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Learn how good security and good design work together to improve public safety.
• Identify security design tools and approaches for a coherent security and urban design strategy that embraces whole streets and districts.
• Apply strategies for successfully balancing security measures with democratic principles of freedom of movement and assembly.

MORE SESSION DETAILS

After 9-11, the security of civic spaces and buildings became an increasingly urgent concern. Since then, the terrorist threat has expanded beyond buildings and structures to “soft” targets. Recent tragic events in Charlottesville (Virginia), Barcelona, and London highlight the continuing need for effective solutions for ensuring the public’s safety on public, government, and institutional properties. This session will address key design goals and challenges with a special focus on how to provide an appropriate balance between addressing threats and maintaining the beauty of the public realm and the values of a free, democratic society, including accessible public spaces and freedom of movement and assembly. Panelists will use case studies and built projects to illustrate approaches that demonstrate that good design and good security are not incompatible, produce a coherent security and urban design strategy that embraces whole streets and districts, and provide perimeter security without dampening the pedestrian activity and vitality of public streets.