The fear society : deisign for safety

Abstract: Creating an environment that is both physically and psychologically safe is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Our contemporary society have become to be known as the “fear society”, in which fear and anxiety occupies a growing part from our lives then ever been seen before, we fear from the “other”, fear from epidemics, fear from godless, fear from crime and terrorism etc. Not every fear is common to all, while some fears are built in and are universal, others are the result of the culture that we live in and exist in a specific region or time. Another important difference to mention is between the private fear and the political one.The political fear is emerging from the society or have implications on the society while the private fear is concerning the person that is experiencing the fear. It is easier to control and lead a group that is shearing the same fears.Those in society who inform us must be committed to maintaining a perspective based on realistic assessments of risk, rather than an agenda based on politics or profit. My investigation of fear stretched from the human relations to the living environment, our urban planning and houses ,to our everyday surrounding and products . I was looking for the connection between our fears and the products that being design and invente and study the field of design for safety. As the city, the urban spaces became a center of violence in the last decades, the discussions on the connection between the urban environment and planing to prevent violence started in the 20th century in their physical context, behavioural context and processive context. To began with the theory Defensible Space in 1972, with an emphasis on the natural surveillance, territorial concerns and access control in the neighbourhood, to the “Broken Windows” theory which argues that vandalism and negligent in the city can encourage the “violation” of other norms of behaviour. And from the urban environment and the secure space of the private home to the use of product that surround us in our everyday lives, indoors and out. There I have found designers that give us practical solution for future safety and others that are offering us objects that will help us feel secure. Unfortunately, it is still not possible to protect us from all kind of crime or criminal.The good news is that design can help in making us feel secure and keeping us safe in mind. We definitely need the illusion of safety, so that we can live in a healthy way