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What's New?
On May 25, 2021 NCPC hosted Open to the Public: What's the Big Deal with a Little Security?. The online panel event examined the impacts of security on public life and public access. Panelists included Jess Zimbabwe, Executive Director, Environmental Works Community Design Center (moderator); Robert T. Glover, Commander, Metropolitan Police Department; Juliette Kayyem, Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government; and Susan Piedmont-Palladino, Director, Virginia Tech's Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center.
In fall 2021, NCPC will host a case study to examine the prototype of an “open” street (closed to cars but open to other modes) and its security implications. Insights from these events and other efforts will inform updates to the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital’s Federal Urban Design Element, which NCPC uses to evaluate plans for public spaces.
Latest Updates
14 Jun
Open to the Public: What’s the Big Deal with a Little Security?
By Melissa Lindsjo | Posted June 14, 2021On May 25, NCPC and the District Office of Planning co-hosted "What’s the Big Deal with a Little Security?," a panel discussion on the impac...
09 Oct
Open to the Public: Rethinking Security & Access in Public Space
By Surina Singh | Posted October 09, 2019As planners and designers, our responsibility is to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of all—but how do we keep people safe in these pu...
Timeline
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Public Meeting
At Open to the Public: Rethinking Security and Public Access in Public Space, a panel of design professionals, academics, and security experts discussed these new approaches and what they mean for public spaces in our cities.
Watch the Video -
Symposium
Speakers engaged federal, local, and private design communities to better understand the changing threat environment and security expectations in the public realm.
Read the Report -
Commission Meeting
The Commission heard an information presentation by NCPC staff highlighting 10 big ideas from a proceedings report developed from Open to the Public: Rethinking Security and Access in Public Space, a two-part colloquium hosted by NCPC and the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Watch the Video Information Sheet -
Online Meetings
The workshop examined Farragut Square as an urban park typology. Stakeholders reviewed Farragut Square by examining potential threats and listing interventions that answered a guiding question (How can Farragut Square be a more secure, accessible, and inviting public space for all?).
Read the Addendum -
Online Meeting
Open to the Public: What’s the Big Deal with a Little Security?, an online panel discussion, focused on the impacts of security on public life and public access.
Watch the Video
