Pioneer the Frontier: Experimental Insight into the Security-Quality of Life Payoff from a Counterterrorism Perspective

Abstract

This thesis experimentally addresses the optimization problem that exists between urban security and quality of life in contemporary public space architecture, within the field of defensive architecture. This thesis examines the role of the built environment in influencing responses to terroristic threats to personal security, integrating pertinent knowledge and tools from psychology, architecture and visualization. Based on the conceptual framework, this work examines the effects of typology of space (transition vs gathering), vehicle security (passive hostile vehicle mitigation vs traffic calming measures), and non-structural security (filtering vs none) on perceived safety and quality of life for space users. The research was conducted on US residents, who were randomly assigned to the conditions for causal interpretation, and the effects were measured along three dimensions: (1) purpose recognition, (2) quality of life, and (3) perceived security.