May 7, 2019
A city's architecture and planning can contribute to creating a safer and more inviting environment.
In times like these, crime and violence have become an increasingly common part of everyday life in cities. Discussions about possible alternatives to this problem often point to increased police intervention as something that supposedly guarantees the safety of the population. The fact is that, although this may happen to a certain extent, on the other hand, there are other issues involved, which are somewhat complex, and which need to be looked at and included in this debate, such as inequality and the appropriation of public spaces.
As reported in an article published by Nexo, journalist and activist Jane Jacobs argued, back in the 1960s, that busy streets and active communities function as urban observatories in themselves. A mixed use of spaces that simultaneously house areas for leisure, commerce and housing, for example, promotes not only diversity, but also their permanent occupation. In her book The Life and Death of American Cities, she said: “Cities are able to offer something to everyone only because, and only when, they are created by everyone.”
From then on, experts began to look at the causes of this phenomenon in a multidisciplinary way, involving political, environmental, psychological and behavioral issues in their analyses. Architect Oscar Newman was one of them, understanding that the inhabitants of a given place should be protagonists in ensuring their own safety. He therefore identified 4 elements of Design that, individually or together, contribute to this end:
Territoriality – people’s engagement in caring for their space may be possible if the appropriate physical or symbolic barriers are established around the property.
Monitoring – certain architectural designs, including windows, entrances and communicating spaces, give greater visibility to what is happening around them, allowing them to be guarded and monitored.
Image and Environment – the design of buildings can influence the perception of the space in which they live, even facilitating their cleaning and maintenance.
Geographic Combination – nearby places can help protect and secure a joint area.
Practical application around the world
In South Africa, these concepts have been part of a national crime-fighting strategy since the 1980s. In Khayelitsha, a metropolitan area of Cape Town, the homicide rate fell by 39% between 2005 and 2012. The measures included in this mission include: improvements in public lighting, aesthetically appealing buildings, buildings with good views of their surroundings and the development of units where people can live and work without having to commute.
In Rio de Janeiro , plans drawn up by Rio on Watch have also shown us that there is a sense in inviting people to participate in community life. Cleaning and planting trees in squares, repairing street lighting, strengthening ties between neighbors and promoting cultural activities in these areas have worked as preventive measures against violence as a whole and have produced much closer relationships between community residents.
Encouraging children, from an early age, to interact with public spaces also means inviting them to occupy cities, recognizing what they think about the places they visit and what changes they have to propose to improve their home, their street, their neighborhood, their city.