There's a difference between designing for safety and designing for fear.

Ankita Rao explores a growing turn in architecture, and the culture that surrounds it, toward secure design. She writes:
Our culture of fear has changed the role of architecture in the United States… While legislators falter over gun control laws, architects and building designers are working to rethink the concept of a safe space.
Rao compares the built-in security measures of the Freedom Tower, the "behemoth" at the World Trade Center, to those of the outward-facing remodel of Sandy Hook Elementary School, where "natural surveillance" is encouraged. Both were rebuilt after devastating (and very different) attacks; their contrast points to the difficulty in striking what Rao terms "the balance between ominous and open" when designing for safety.
FULL STORY: Architects Are Designing Buildings for the Age of Mass Shootings

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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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