Protective Placemaking
Public spaces are where communities gather, economies activate, and civic life takes shape. Protective placemaking investigates how safety and security can be woven into the design of these spaces from the outset, so that protection enhances rather than diminishes the quality of place. This research bridges the gap between security practice and urban design, seeking outcomes that are both safe and welcoming.
Protective Placemaking Assessment
Evaluate how effectively your public spaces integrate safety considerations into their design, activation, and management.
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Why this matters
Too often, security is applied to public spaces as an afterthought, resulting in measures that are visually intrusive, spatially disruptive, or socially exclusionary. Concrete barriers, excessive fencing, and overt surveillance can undermine the very qualities that make a place worth protecting. There is a better way.
Protective placemaking recognises that design decisions made at the earliest project stages, from street geometry to landscape elements to furniture selection, have profound implications for both security performance and human experience. When security thinking is integrated into the design process, the resulting spaces can be resilient, accessible, and genuinely inviting.
This research programme draws on case studies, design analysis, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to develop practical frameworks for teams working at the intersection of security, architecture, landscape, and urban planning.