Reclaim the Night: Shifting Architectural Paradigms
Authors
Hussain, Suad Bashir ; Laursen, Line Rebsdorf
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2024
Abstract
Cities are increasingly planned with climate and sustainability in mind, but safety, security, and people’s rights in public space remain insufficiently addressed. In Denmark, 70% of women report feeling unsafe at night. While the causes of mistrust in nighttime public spaces go beyond architecture, the profession has a responsibility to help create more equal and safer urban experiences. The thesis Reclaim the Night: Shifting Architectural Paradigms and the handbook Feminist Architectural Practice 101 challenge prevailing norms and examine how architecture and urban planning can make public spaces after dark safer and more inclusive—especially for women and other marginalized groups. The work adopts a feminist approach. This means that studies of nighttime safety prioritize intersectional perspectives (how identities such as gender, ethnicity, age, and disability interact), participatory engagement (actively involving affected community members), and situated studies (insights grounded in specific places and experiences). The process is informed by the authors’ own embodied experiences of moving through Aalborg. Findings are translated into strategies ranging from concrete measures like the placement and orientation of lighting to higher-level interventions in municipal planning. These strategies and design considerations are visualized through an experimental, temporary design intervention at a site that concentrates physical conditions contributing to feelings of unsafety. The thesis concludes with a brief overview of the proposed design and a reflective discussion of the methods used, relevant literature, design-analytical processes, and participatory work.
Byer bliver i stigende grad planlagt med fokus på klima og bæredygtighed, men sikkerhed, tryghed og borgeres rettigheder i byens rum er stadig ikke tilstrækkeligt prioriteret. I Danmark fortæller 70% af kvinder, at de føler sig utrygge om natten. Selvom årsagerne til mistillid i nattens offentlige rum ikke kun er arkitektoniske, har arkitektfaget et ansvar for at bidrage til mere lige og trygge byoplevelser. Specialet Reclaim the Night: Shifting Architectural Paradigms og håndbogen Feminist Architectural Practice 101 udfordrer gængse normer og undersøger, hvordan arkitektur og byplanlægning kan skabe mere sikre og inkluderende offentlige rum efter mørkets frembrud – særligt for kvinder og andre marginaliserede grupper. Arbejdet bygger på et feministisk perspektiv. Det betyder, at undersøgelser af tryghed om natten vægter intersektionelle blikke (hvordan identiteter som køn, etnicitet, alder og handicap påvirker hinanden), deltagende processer (aktiv inddragelse af berørte borgere) og stedbundne studier (indsigter forankret i konkrete steder og erfaringer). Processen er informeret af forfatternes egne kropslige erfaringer med at færdes i Aalborg. Resultaterne omsættes til strategier fra konkrete greb som placering og retning af belysning til indsatser på et højere plan i den kommunale planlægning. Strategier og designovervejelser visualiseres gennem en midlertidig, eksperimenterende designintervention på et sted, der samler fysiske forhold, som bidrager til utryghed. Afslutningsvis gives et kort overblik over det foreslåede design og en refleksion over metoder, relevant litteratur, designanalytiske processer og deltagende inddragelse.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords