Technology can be used in design to decrease stress and increase safety/security for the people using the space. The technological advancements over the past few decades have allowed us to start breaking down barriers to create a more safe and inclusive environment. A major example of this is the advancements in virtual meeting platforms that allowed people to stay connected during Covid 19. Zoom, Microsoft teams, and many more platforms used created a new environment for people to connect with work, friends, and family. However, the isolation these platforms created had a negative impact on many peoples mental and physical health. This isolation caused huge disruptions to our social environment which plays a vital role in peoples overall health and well-being. We are still very much in the aftermath of this entire situation so the solutions to these problems are still being developed. But what role do designers have in these solutions? How can designers help make people less stressed and feel safe to come out of there isolation? The answers to these questions specifically about the isolation caused by Covid are very intriguing, but they are going to vary from place to place and are just now starting to really be addressed. In my community specifically, there isn't a lot being done at least not a lot that I can find information about. Most people just went back to their normal day to day once the restrictions were lifted. But beyond Covid, what other technological advancements have improved peoples sense of safety and security? What has been done in my community to improve this sense? To get a better understanding of this, I am going to start by looking at the crime in Fayetteville for the past few years.
Crime in Fayetteville
The city of Fayetteville's crime rate is about the same as the rate for Arkansas, but it is still above the national average.
The map below is the crime reported between October 13 2022 and November 13 2022.
So overall Fayetteville seems like a pretty dangerous place to live when looking at this data, but from personal experience people don't treat it like it is. I think this discrepancy probably has something to do with my limited experience of Fayetteville outside of the area around campus. I live and go to school very close to campus and looking at the map above it seems like most of the crimes reported in the last month lay outside of this area. So what is the city doing about this? Are there any programs in place to help improve this?
What technology has Fayetteville utilized to increase people's sense of safety and security?
Over the past few years Fayetteville has implemented several initiatives to help increase peoples safety and security. A few of these initiatives include:
dedicated police officer to patrol the trail system
added school resource officer to the public school system
started developing a new fire station and police station
several other programs dedicated to improving the environmental conditions and economy with the goal of indirectly increasing safety and security
One such program is the LED street light pilot project done in 2018. This project implemented new street lights in a neighborhood to demonstrate how more lighting at night makes people feel safer. This was done in hopes to expand upon it later. It found that 36% of responders felt safe on the sidewalk at night after the LED lights were installed. Fayetteville is also in the process of installing street lights along the trail. The trail also helps increase people's sense of safety by providing infrastructure, separate from vehicular roads, for people to use modes of active transit.
I think one indicator of the sense of safety and security in Fayetteville is the large number of people who are moving here. Fayetteville has been ranked in the top 10 best places to live in the US by the US News and World Report for many years. So the city must provide some sense of safety and many of the indirect programs in place must be creating an environment that outweighs the potential crime.
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