Strategies in Urban Planning to Prevent Terrorism

How do you think protection measures against terrorism can be taken without creating panic and fear among the public? Urban designers, security experts and planners do not only make designs that will appeal to the eye or suit the dynamics of the city. At the same time people ways to keep safe also thinks. This way, citizens see designs that are a part of the city rather than feeling like they are living in wartime.

We can see some examples in Turkey as well. What are the urban plans for the fight against terrorism? Let’s take a look together at what it is and what kind of protection it provides.

Unfortunately, we also experience examples of terrorist attacks in our country and we suffer very painful losses. City planners are implementing various strategies to prevent these to some extent.

For example, in many countries, some of the garbage bins on the streets or in the subways have been removed or removed. Made of material that will not shatter in an explosion done.

To give another example; Narrower doors are being built in places with large crowds, such as concerts, shopping malls and hospitals, so that the police To see incoming people more clearly or to block the passage of cars. Of course, you may have noticed that in our country, no matter how narrow the doors are, even the X-ray devices are only for show…

Many public goods that we pass by without realizing have a purpose.

In some countries, precautions are being taken by placing benches, bicycle areas, trees and large flower pots. All these public goods act as barriers and prevent cars from entering places or moving freely. However, when there was a terrorist attack in Taksim, the trees were cut down; Putting or removing trees? We do not know a more logical method.

Another interesting method is the inscriptions we see especially in football stadiums or city centers.

Consider, for example, the famous Arsenal stadium. On match days, up to 60,000 people pass by this post. So it becomes a very suitable place for a terrorist attack. The concrete writing is there as a precaution against attacks because, as we just mentioned, cars are blocked from entering and It limits pedestrian areas.

Maintaining traffic order is not the only reason why cars leave bicycle or pedestrian paths.

Cars are an effective weapon for terrorism because they require no special skills or training to use and are unobtrusive. Police officers, unless there is an additional reason When they see a car driving on any road, no alarm goes off in their minds.

For this reason, city designers and security experts; Keep driveways clear of cyclists or separates pedestrians from pedestrians by placing barriers or concrete walls. In 2017, a terrorist trucker killed 8 people on a bicycle path in Manhattan, USA, because there were no such measures.

The only reason why vehicle traffic is closed in places such as Istanbul-Taksim or Izmir-Kıbrıs Şehitleri Street is not to prevent traffic.

Since these places are areas where there are a lot of pedestrians, To prevent potential terrorist attacks The entry of cars is limited.

The concrete placed for us to sit in crowded places also has a purpose.

These “multi-purpose benches” are also there to prevent attacks from vehicles. As long as there are concrete benches, cars cannot easily enter the attack area or cannot increase its speed.

In short, city planners and security officers have a great responsibility in the fight against terrorism, and during the war period, it is necessary to prevent the city from being seen as a city. Solutions on how to protect from attacks they produce.

We are sitting next to a concrete bench that we pass by every day. that he was standing there as a precaution against terrorism We don’t even notice. The examples we gave above are just the tip of the iceberg. You can also check out the resources below to find out more.

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