Security

Silhouette of woman in long coat walking on darkened city street alone at night, passing brightly lit sotrefront.

Designing Safer Cities

For women and other vulnerable groups, navigating the urban space can be fraught with real and perceived dangers.

November 19, 2023 - The Conversation

Women Public Space

Urban Design Through a Gender Lens

Building cities to be safe and accessible for women and LGBTQIA+ people has benefits for all users of public space.

August 11, 2022 - Architecture Daily

Body Scanners

Airport-Style Body Scanners Coming to L.A.'s Rail System

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be it the first in the country to deploy body scanners on its rail system.

August 16, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Times Square

Beacon / Bunker

Kris Graves photographs all 77 NYPD precincts from Tottenville to Edenwald, looking to these buildings—sometimes humble, sometimes imposing—for the face and footprint of law and order in the neighborhood.

March 10, 2018 - Urban Omnibus

Protest

Keeping Our Children Safe After the Parkland High School Shooting

In the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Florida, the debate has been wide-ranging, from gun safety to arming teachers. All agree students must be safe, so why not look at architecture? The NRA has some tips.

February 28, 2018 - The Architects Newspaper

Plano DART

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Commits to New Security Measures

The DART Board of Directors has ordered the expansion of police and security patrols at transit stations in Dallas, while also considering investments in new surveillance technology on light rail lines.

November 22, 2017 - DART Daily

Pedestrian Barriers Installed on London's Bridges Endanger Cyclists

In the wake of two terrorist attacks on London bridges that killed pedestrians, concrete barriers were installed on three crossings to prevent repeat rampages. The only problem is that they were installed in bicycle lanes.

June 7, 2017 - London Evening Standard

Bollards

Pedestrians Need Protection from Motor Vehicles Used as Deadly Weapons

As of press time on Friday, the death toll from the Nice Bastille Day massacre is 84, injuries exceeding 200, a record for an act of alleged terrorism committed by a single person. It also sets a record for death by the use of a motor vehicle.

July 16, 2016 - NBC News

Washington D.C. - The White House

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: White House Edition

The security cordon around the country's most famous residence is growing taller and stronger, again.

May 3, 2016 - The Washington Post

Security cameras on a building

Op-Ed: Facial Recognition on Transit Goes a Step Too Far

Despite its insistence that the technology would only target criminals, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) should reconsider using facial recognition software to address crime. The potential for abuse may be too high.

February 27, 2016 - The Dallas Morning News

Rail Stations Shortchanged as Homeland Security Focuses on Airports

Rail travelers are not subject to the same degree of security measures as air travelers according to security experts, reports Ron Nixon for The New York Times. Yet far more travel by rail than plane, and rail has been a terrorist target abroad.

December 15, 2015 - The New York Times

Security Issues Raised for U.S. Commuter and Intercity Trains

Friday's foiled attempt by an alleged terrorist to massacre civilians on a Paris-bound, high-speed Thalys train has raised fears that a similar attack could be launched on one of America's lesser-speed trains. Are current security measures adequate?

August 26, 2015 - The New York Times - U.S.

Terror On-Board European High-Speed Train

Massacre on a Paris-bound train was averted in France on Friday due to the courageous actions of three Americans, one in the Air Force another in the Oregon National Guard, who rushed and subdued a Moroccan man armed with an AK-47 and a handgun.

August 23, 2015 - The New York Times

Hacking Traffic Lights with a Laptop

A study by computer scientists from the University of Michigan shows how easy it is to hack and control traffic lights.

August 22, 2014 - Vox

Black Friday Ops

When millions of Americans venture forth from their food comas tomorrow to their nearest mall, the shopping environment may have changed from last year. By design, most shoppers are unlikely to notice the increased security measures.

November 28, 2013 - The New York Times

Low Crime Rates In Large Cities Support Multi-Modal Planning and Smart Growth

Contrary to popular assumptions, large, transit-oriented cities have lower crime rates than smaller, automobile-oriented cities. Jane Jacobs was right! This column discusses this phenomenon and its implications for transport and land use planning.

October 31, 2013 - Todd Litman

Hope for Healed Urban Fabric Dashed by Security Concerns at Former Trade Center Site

After the World Trade Center attacks, planners, neighbors, and Mayor Bloomberg supported reweaving the site into the city's street grid, in the process undoing "a painful planning error of the 1960s." Security concerns seem to have won out, however.

May 17, 2013 - The New York Times

Camera Cultivation: Urban Security in the Austerity Age

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Eric Jaffe explores how cash-strapped cities will handle terrorism. "The short answer is public surveillance cameras. The long answer is smarter public surveillance cameras."

May 8, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

How Has 9/11 Changed America's Built Environment?

On this sombre anniversary, we bring you an article that was published last year by Kaid Benfield, looking at the legacy of 9/11 for community & the built environment.

September 11, 2012 - Switchboard

Security Perimeter Design Gets A Facelift

For almost a decade, security features have been added to the perimeters of important public buildings without regard for aesthetics, and now are being 'beautified,' across the nation.

December 19, 2011 - The Atlantic

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

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