Designing out fear from urban spaces: a research-led approach

This paper reports on a research-based design project that had dual objectives: first, to test the applicability of Appleton's prospect–refuge theory to the study of the impact of physical cues on fear in two urban squares in Bristol, UK, and second, to propose urban design interventions that would ameliorate the sense of fear in those spaces. The reversal of the central analytical action in this research – the mapping of those physical cues identified by Appleton's theory as potentially fear inducing – can provide the urban designer with a useful technique to begin practising the art of ‘designing out’ fear, and of designing urban spaces more generally. ‘Designing’ may be defined here as making decisions about the physical shape of the built environment. The paper also reflects on whether, how and to what extent the reversal of analytical operations can directly translate into techniques of designing, and to what extent analytical operations provide a less procedural inspiration for designing, rather than simply being a process to be mechanically reversed. Finally, the relationship between art and technique in urban design is considered.