COMPREHENSIVE PROJECT | Safe in the City? Transformation scenarios for urban security

Master | 12CP 

Questions of urban security currently occupy a prominent place in public debate. Debates around crime, terrorism, and public order intensify already widespread perceptions of insecurity. On top of this, increasing extreme weather events, heat waves, air pollution, and the recurring threat of infectious diseases make urban vulnerability more visible—particularly in cities. The broader question of safety and security, therefore, goes beyond crime prevention and includes a range of concerns, from physical and psychological harm to climatic and public health risks. 

Policymakers and planners respond to these risks through a wide range of interventions, often implemented retrospectively in urban space, including lighting, access control, distancing regulations, video surveillance, greening strategies, and shading measures. However, the planning and design of buildings and urban spaces themselves have far-reaching implications for both safety and security. The configuration and arrangement of buildings, the articulation of façades, the design of ground floors and entrances, as well as the visual quality of public space, all shape how urban environments function. But how do these architectural and urban design features contribute to urban security? And what “side effects” can these measures have on urban space and on the quality of life of individuals? 

These questions will guide the summer semester through research, fieldwork, and design investigations (Research by Design). The semester begins with an analysis of current security discourses and their spatial manifestations. This is followed by an intensive field research phase, in which students systematically examine how different safety and security measures operate in urban space. The insights gained will then inform an iterative design process aimed at developing and critically reflecting on proposals for buildings and urban spaces. Design is understood here not as the production of definitive solutions, but as an analytical tool within a broader process of inquiry. The end product of the semester is a joint publication in which the findings are presented. 

Teachers
Prof. Tim Rieniets
Ines Dobosic
Anna-Lena Wallner
 

Dates
14.04.2026, 2 pm, Orientation Session (Room C153)
8.-11.5. 2026, Fieldwork (Hannover)