Spotlight on Designing and Managing Safe Public Spaces

Public spaces are profoundly important for cities as they represent places in which people come together, encounter differences and experience often fleeting social interactions. The quality of public spaces is central to their vitality and people’s use of them, as they represent key attractions for visitors, residents and other users of all ages and backgrounds.

The importance of urban public spaces, not only for the prosperity of cities but also for both the health and wellbeing of individuals, groups and communities has been reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic, raising fundamental questions about how best to plan, regulate and manage urban spaces in the public interest. However, European cities face significant contemporary challenges and major threats, such as terrorism and organised crime, and also incivilities, petty crime and disorder which all affect citizens’ feeling of safety in public spaces. In this light, striking a balance between managing public spaces as secure but also open to accommodate diverse use – including for example political protest and public expression - is a major task confronting municipal authorities.

This factsheet is based on research conducted by IcARUS project and it further communicates the learnings related to designing and managing safe urban spaces for improving Urban Security.

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