How do we design our urban spaces to be and feel safer? It’s not as simple as installing cameras everywhere to watch over everyone. In this episode, our wonderful host Brittany Atkins chats with expert guests Marianne Weinreich, Debbie Dekkers, and Dan Campsall about how the presence (or absence) of safety in mobility and urban planning can be affected by gender, age, lifestyle, and more.
Marianne Weinreich is a Market Manager of Smart Mobility at Ramboll, a Danish (but international) engineering and design consultancy that aims to create sustainable solutions across transport. She has spent the last 20+ years working in mobility as a consultant and manager, and is also the co-founder and chairman of the Cycling Embassy.
Debbie Dekkers is a Programme Manager and “innovatiemanager” at the Innovation Office for the city of Amsterdam. The organisation aims to make the city more efficient and evolved for the benefit of its residents, using the power of technology to prepare for future mobility. As a programme manager, Debbie works mainly within smart mobility with a focus on MaaS, trends analysis, and anticipating new mobility concepts.
Dan Campsall is the Chairman of Agilysis, a transport behaviour and safety consultancy, with the goal to transform lives through healthier and safer communities via intelligent solutions. He also is the Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for transport safety in the UK, and has been involved in the transport safety sector of mobility for about 20 years.
This episode delves into the complex subject that is safety in urban design and urban mobility, and examines it from a variety of different angles and perspectives.
A main theme our guest spoke on was how safety and the perception of safety in urban mobility can vary based on a number of demographics – Marianne spoke about how automotive safety features are structured to accommodate the average man, leaving women out of the safety equation. Debbie notes how not all urban infrastructure bears in mind the elderly or the disabled, who might need longer time and digital assistance at crosswalks and complex road crossings. Dan also commented how minorities and those living in deprived communities can be at greater risk of road injury, as well as facing lower quality infrastructure. However, they all note that there is still a sense of excitement and ambition as newer, smarter technology and strategy come to light as solutions to these existing issues.
This is just the surface, and there are so many more levels of discussion and conversation on this episode – that we are proud to sponsor. You can hear the full discussion on Apple Podcasts, as well as anywhere else you find your podcasts.
