67: What should we know about dark design? (guest: Anne Katrine Harders – Danish Architecture Center)

Welcome to the newest episode of Urbcast, in which we will talk about: what should we know about dark design?

Why should we talk about it?

Dark design or hostile architecture is an urban design strategy that uses elements of the built environment to purposefully guide or restrict behaviour. Unfortunately, it is often used against some vulnerable or excluded groups e.g. homeless.

Why is it worth listening?

To get Anne Katrine’s insightful observations of the dark design on the streets of Copenhagen. But also to get to know what are the possible solutions for tackling this challenge.

About the guest:

Anne Katrine Harders – is a Program Leader, Ph.D. at Danish Architecture Center and one of the strong voices in the debate about Copenhagen’s urban development.

Topics that we talked about:

• What is exactly dark design, and what is its role in our cities?
• What might be examples of excluding architecture?
• Can there be any positive aspects of dark design/hostile architecture?
• Can we find some examples of dark design in Copenhagen?
• Who has the power to restrict acess to built environment?
• How can we make our cities friendlier to excluded groups (e.g. homeless)?

Book recommended by Anne Katrine:

• Et forsvar for storbyen by Simon Kjær Hansen

You can follow Anne Katrine and Danish Architecture Center:

• www: https://dac.dk/en/
• Linkedin: https://dk.linkedin.com/in/akharders/da

You can listen to the episode at: urbcast.pl/en/episode67

You will find more information at: https://linktr.ee/urbcast