Resilient Design (RE-DESIGN) for counter-terrorism: Decision support for designing effective and acceptable resilient places

Lead Research Organisation: University of Manchester
Department Name: Environment and Development

Abstract

Resilience against an array of traditional and unconventional terrorist threats is increasingly important to the way towns and cities are designed and managed. This is particularly the case with regard to crowded public places such as public shopping areas, sports stadia, covered malls, hospitals and theatres, as well as on systems of transit such as light-rail or tram systems, which are seen as particularly vulnerable targets for terrorist attack.This project draws on recent work by the proposers in examining the impact of surveillance and territorial control measures in reducing the perceived risk of terrorist attack in cities; the impact of new forms of managing the terrorist threat through resilience forums at all tiers of governments; the increased use of non-conventional terrorist tactics against crowds; the potential of engineering solutions to reduce the impact of terrorist attack on the railway system; the social impact and acceptance of counter-terror measures upon urban society; and how of disaster management expertise is being incorporated into the creation of sustainable built environments.Through the examination of case-study examples drawn from major UK provincial cities, the research will develop a decision-support framework for use by a wide range of stakeholders that are (or should be) involved with the planning, design, construction, operation and management of public places. Such a framework will be developed through an understanding of both the acceptability and effectiveness of current anti-terrorism measures which are being, or could in the future be, adopted and utilised by local and national governments, and other bodies, involved in the design and regulation of public places. Such a decision-support framework will improve resilient planning and design by making available information and giving alternative choices to all 'actors' which are involved in counter-terrorist design and management in crowded public places In short, this research will aim to: a) Understand the competing uses and function of public places and how a variety social, economic, aesthetic, managerial factors impact upon the production and maintenance of places that can respond, prepare for, and recover from, terrorist attack i.e. improve place-based resilience;b) Develop a decision-support framework and associated guidance to assist key stakeholders in the design of resilient places. Such a framework should include a range of perspectives, for example from blue light agencies, urban designers, emergency planners and citizens, and be developed not just on the basis of how effective they might be, but in accordance with how acceptable such interventions might be;c) Conduct specific studies to evaluate the methodology and decision support framework in busy shopping areas and for light rail systems in a number of UK case studies (Newcastle and Nottingham) although ideas and procedures will be collated from other UK 'core cities' and internationally;d) Draw attention to what these findings mean for the creation of public spaces that are increasingly seen as 'self organised'. This approach employs collaborative and reflexive problem-solving and encourages building adaptability and flexibility into the design of the physical, communicative and management systems required to deal with the fluid nature of the threat of terrorism;e) Establish a research 'road map' for exploring emerging issues and any identified gaps in knowledge. Lessons from this work will be fed into evolving policy processes linked directly resilient planning but also wider urban, social and transportation policies or procedures.

Publications

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Coaffee. J (2008) Integrating counter-terrorism resilience into sustainable urbanism [paper awarded the 2009 'Reed and Mallik' Medal from the Institution of Civil Engi in The Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Urban Design and Planning,

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Coaffee, J. (2009) Terrorism and Crowded Places: Lessons from Mumbai in Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Homeland Security and Resilience Monitor

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Coaffee, J. (2007) Redesigning counter-terrorism for soft targets, Royal United in Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Homeland Security and Resilience Monitor

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Coaffee J (2008) Urban resilience and national security: the role for planning in Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Urban Design and Planning

 
Description Resilience against an array of traditional and unconventional terrorist threats is increasingly important to the way towns and cities are designed and managed. This is particularly the case with regard to crowded public places such as public shopping areas, sports stadia, covered malls, hospitals and theatres, as well as on systems of transit such as light-rail or tram systems, which are seen as particularly vulnerable targets for terrorist attack.

The Resilient Design (REDESIGN) project drew on recent work by the proposers in examining how various material and managerial aspect of resilience are being incorporated into the creation of sustainable built environments. During the course of conducting the research the investigators worked with a range of stakeholders and professional associations to ensure the research outputs have practical and policy application. Key stakeholders engaged included the Institute of Civil Engineering, the Royal Town Planning Association, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Office of Rail Regulation, TRANSEC and a variety of UK police forces and emergency planning forum (including the ACPO-run National Counter Terrorism Security Office) and our co-sponsors of this research the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure.

Since 2007 we have undertaken this work through the examination of case-study examples drawn from London as well as major UK provincial cities. We have developed, tested and validated a web-based decision-support framework for use by a wide range of stakeholders that are (or should be) involved with the planning, design, construction, operation and management of public places. Such a framework has been developed through an understanding of both the acceptability and effectiveness of current anti-terrorism measures which are being, or could in the future be, adopted and utilised by local and national governments, and other bodies, involved in the design and regulation of public places. Such a decision-support framework will improve resilient planning and design by making available information and giving alternative choices to all 'actors' which are involved in counter-terrorist design and management in crowded public places.

In short, this research has:

a) Undertaken research so as to integrate the competing uses and function of public places and how a variety of social, economic, aesthetic, managerial factors impact upon the production and maintenance of places that can respond, prepare for, and recover from, terrorist attack i.e. improve place-based resilience;

b) Developed a decision-support framework and associated guidance to assist key stakeholders in the design of resilient places. The framework includes a range of perspectives, for example from blue light agencies, urban designers, emergency planners and citizens, and been developed not just on the basis of how effective they might be, but in accordance with how acceptable such interventions might be;

c) Conducted specific studies to evaluate the methodology and decision support framework in busy shopping areas and for light rail systems (and other crowded places) in a number of UK and international urban areas;

d) Established a research 'road map' for exploring emerging issues and any identified gaps in knowledge. Lessons from this work has been be fed into evolving policy processes linked directly resilient planning but also wider urban, social and transportation policies or procedures. The work undertaken on the project has informed ongoing policy development in the fields of counter-terrorism, planning, rail safety and resilience. Significant follow on funding has been obtained to advance, and enhance, REDESIGN outputs in the UK and EU.

e) Developed and tested multi-disciplinary methodologies for addressing complex problems as evidenced by the array of academic and practice-related papers written, a number of well received guest editions of academic and professional journals, and the relationships we have established with policy makers, practitioners and professional associations (including those not envisaged at project start e.g. the Olympic Delivery Authority and Building Regulation associations).
Exploitation Route As a result of the REDESIGN project and subsequent follow-on funding we have developed and tested a decision support tool (the Resilient Design tool) which can be used or adapted by a range of urban stakeholders to help them make better decisions regarding the implementation (or not) of counter-terrorist security features. This can be found at:
http://www.securedbydesign.com/professionals/pdfs/resilient-design.pdf
Sectors Education

Government

Democracy and Justice

Security and Diplomacy

Other

URL http://www.securedbydesign.com/professionals/pdfs/resilient-design.pdf
 
Description The findings from REDESIGN have been used to: a) Train the latest generation of counter-terrorism security advisors (CTSA's) at national training days organised by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The primary role of these advisers is to provide help, advice and guidance on all aspects of counter terrorism protective security across a variety of sectors; b) Develop, in conjunction with the National Counter-terrorism Security Office [NaCTSO] - an interactive training course - Project ARGUS Professional - aimed at encouraging architects, designers and planners to consider counter terrorism protective security measures within the built environment at the concept design stage; c) Provide strategic advice to a range of public and private sector building projects. For example we worked with the Olympic Delivery Authority on site security ahead of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London; d) Contribute to national policy development around protecting crowded places as a result of dialogue with, and reports submitted to, NaCTSO, CPNI, the Home Office, etc. e) Assist a range of built environment stakeholders across the UK make better decisions about the introduction of security features through the development of an interactive decision support framework; f) Facilitate a range of further research projects on security and resilience; g) Contribute to academic debates regarding the proportionality of counter-terrorism features in crowed urban areas.
First Year Of Impact 2007
Sector Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy,Other
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

Economic

Policy & public services