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Sites with a perception of safety

CONTEXT

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This section aims to cover both the perception of safety and urban safety from the perspective of inclusiveness that fosters the autonomy of everyone in the urban environment.

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  • The safety of the site. The regulations require each building project to include a preliminary geotechnical and geological analysis phase to verify that the conditions of the land are optimal for construction and to serve as a base for subsequent structural and foundational calculations.
    The relationship of these calculations with the concept of health is evident, as they are initially used to guarantee overall stability and therefore the safety of the people who live there in order to prevent possible injuries and accidents.
    Although it is a given that geotechnical analysis involves a certain degree of uncertainty, when land problems are encountered it is mostly due to inadequate analysis (high and variable groundwater levels, expansive clay, etc.)..

    Additionally, the following must be taken into account:
     
  • Perceived safety. The physical characteristics of the spaces are a key factor that affects people’s perception of safety. It is necessary to design buildings and spaces in such a way that everyone can enjoy public, community and domestic spaces, without restricting their activities or movements due to fear.
    Accordingly, urban safety from an inclusive perspective is also related to people’s health. Insecurity in this sense may be, on the one hand, the cause of mental health problems (paranoia, stress, fear, anxiety, etc.) and, on the other hand, the cause of accidents.

    Not underestimating the impact of climate change may affect the territory and the ecosystems and therefore people. The risk of fire in woodland areas or close to forestry spaces, torrential rain affecting riverbeds, decreasing groundwater levels or the sea level in coastal areas are examples that could affect the perception of safety in a territory.
 

OBJECTIVE

  • Reduce accidents and mitigate their consequences
  • Create safer and more inclusive spaces for all, fostering autonomy for women, children, the elderly, the most vulnerable groups, etc.

PROPOSALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Proposals and recommendations for the development of housing (public and private)

To improve the safety of the site

  • Carry out quality, exhaustive geotechnical studies, especially where problems may be expected. (Surveys must be registered for the entire buildable scope.)
    • If the studied land is unfavourable, it must be discarded for public and private construction (residential or other uses).
    • If the presence of water currents is detected in the subsoil, their course must be located so that living spaces and bedrooms are not over them.
  • Plan for possible implications related to extreme weather phenomena, especially with regard to areas susceptible to flooding.
  • If there are no healthy sites, a variety of instruments can be used to generate new building plots:
    • Reservation of land for its acquisition as Municipal Land and Housing Assets (PMSH); and the transfer of assigned assets for PMSH.
    • Establishment and operation of a register of undeveloped plots.
    • Acquisition of land, buildings or housing on the free market and through the rights of first refusal and redemption.

To improve the perception of safety

  • Visibility of the environment: see and be seen. 
    • Remove or adapt spaces with areas that are hidden, have no visibility or are abandoned.
    • Prevent the generation of blind walls in buildings.
    • Design buildings and spaces with visual relationships.
    • Have transparent car park exits to favour visibility.
  • Vitality of the environment
    • Favour a mix of uses, density and proximity for places where people can meet and gather. Urban planning on the neighbourhood scale with a mix of uses and local shops.
    • Favour the simultaneity and continuity of uses and activities.
    • Activate empty spaces and unoccupied housing to prevent their deterioration and associated insecurity.
  • Security of the environment
    • Propitiate the diversity of people and uses, providing access to housing to a diverse population, based on the typological diversity of the homes and the types of tenancy.
  • Equipped environment
    • Design buildings with a diversity of uses that facilitate the development of everyday activities.
    • Facilitate the connection between homes and equipped environments based on, for example, the location of accesses in activity environments.
  • Community environment
    • Planning of the home occupation process.
    • Foster the participation of people in housing development processes.
    • Training of multidisciplinary teams to foster and facilitate participation in the design of apartment buildings.

REFERENCE EXPERIENCES

Information only available in Catalan

 

 

 

LEGISLATION

  • Llei 3/2012, del 22 de febrer, de modificació del text refós de la Llei d'urbanisme (Decret legislatiu 1/2010).
  • Decret legislatiu 1/2010, de 3 d'agost, pels qual s'aprova el Text refós de la llei d'urbanisme modificat per Llei 3/2012, de 22 de febrer, de modificació del text refós de la llei d'urbanisme, i per
  • Decret 305/2006, de 18 de juliol, pel qual s'aprova el Reglament de la Llei d'urbanisme de Catalunya
  • Decret 336/1988, de 17 d'octubre, pel qual s'aprova el Reglament del patrimoni dels ens locals de Catalunya.
  • Decret legislatiu 2/2003, de 28 d'abril, pel qual s'aprova el Text refós de la Llei municipal i de règim local de Catalunya.

STUDIES AND TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION

More information about addressing the Public Health Service: entornurbasalut@diba.cat

Date of last update:
dt., 29 d’oct. 2019 08:28:53 +0000