It’s been a week since the brutal vehicular massacre that has clouded our city. Since then, I’ve noticed more barricades located around high traffic areas, one, for example, is Union Station. LIke, it wasn’t crowded enough coming from the GO and then jockeying for position to cross the street. Now, we have to maneuver around these mini cement walls. Which by the way, doesn’t make me feel safe whatsoever.
So, this made me think. If the future of cities isn’t it being “smart” but “safe”, how can we design for safety? Urban planners are all about, city parks, open spaces, and pedestrian walkways. Now, these prime areas of gatherings are hot spots for random attacks. It’s not safe, but dangerous to there.
So what does this mean for designers, architects, and urban planners? It means that we now have to think more strategically and inventively on how we design cities. And most importantly, how we can protect our citizens from random attacks that don’t look like a renaissance of brutalist architecture. How will you beautify the city you live in without it turning into a military state?
Richelle Sibolboro 