Landscape Security
11:55am Friday, 2nd April 2004
Recent visits to Washington or a visit to the US embassy here in London offer an eery, but so far ad hoc view into the science of securing public streets and sensitive buildings. Oversized bollards, car-sized concrete tree planters, reinforced trash receptacles, and blast-proof benches are only a few of the options supplied by the "kit of parts", a menu of the government's post-9/11 street furniture. But rather than bunkering our cities, landscape architect Laurie Olin would like to propose a different, more discreet solution. Using additional setbacks, widened sidewalks and enhanced green space -- preferring swales and hedges and ha-has to fencing and barricades -- Olin is demonstrating how better planning and green design can obviate some of the need for cumbersome security measures. Smart thinking, though it's ironic that it may be security concerns that finally force the pedestrianisation of major global cities.
Recent visits to Washington or a visit to the US embassy here in London offer an eery, but so far ad hoc view into the science of securing public streets and sensitive buildings. Oversized bollards, car-sized concrete tree planters, reinforced trash receptacles, and blast-proof benches are only a few of the options supplied by the "kit of parts", a menu of the government's post-9/11 street furniture. But rather than bunkering our cities, landscape architect Laurie Olin would like to propose a different, more discreet solution. Using additional setbacks, widened sidewalks and enhanced green space -- preferring swales and hedges and ha-has to fencing and barricades -- Olin is demonstrating how better planning and green design can obviate some of the need for cumbersome security measures. Smart thinking, though it's ironic that it may be security concerns that finally force the pedestrianisation of major global cities.
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