Spatial Changes after Public Safety Incidents

Abstract

How to use space to regulate people's behaviour is one of today's key issues. The academic community for environmental behaviour research from the environmental determinism, gradually shifted to the interaction theory. Many studies have focused on the effects of human behavior on space and vice versa. However, research on the safety of specific workspaces is lacking. This paper delves into safety hazards within workspaces amid social tensions and public safety hazards, exploring how environmental enhancements can inversely impact human behavior. This paper compares the workspaces for bus drivers from different countries, analyses the advantages and disadvantages of each configuration, and concludes two key aspects in improving worker safety: establishing proper enclosure of physical space for the workers and maintaining a visual connection with the public. These two aspects are critical for other workspaces, such as doctor’s offices and commercial kitchens as well. Through such spatial adjustment, designer can achieve the purpose of regulating the user behaviours. This paper also looks into the safety measures implemented after different types of natural disasters and confirms that substantial safety improvements are achievable through thoughtful design interventions.