The Construction Industry Council (CIC) Yorkshire & Humber Region’s annual conference is entitled ‘Never mind the bollards…Here’s the real impact of security on the built environment’.
The topic for this, the sixth Construction Industry Council (CIC) Yorkshire & Humber (Y&H) annual conference, resulted from the horrific terrorist attacks that unfolded in Paris in November 2015, where places of apparent safety – a restaurant, a music venue, a sports stadium – were targeted with devastating effect.
These new threats will be examined at the conference and ways in which our built environment has developed through the ages to respond to safety and security risks will also be examined. The event will also look at how construction professionals can work together to create safe yet welcoming spaces. It will ask what we can learn from past threats and debate what we can do to defend the future. This is not a conference about bomb bollards and barriers.
During the course of the day delegates will consider questions such as: Can our cities, initially developed for their defensive positions, adapt to changes in threats which have made these urban areas less like refuges and more like targets? How has modern day urban planning responded? How can we bring sanctuary back to our cities? Is it possible to design public urban spaces that are safe and welcoming yet inclusive for people of all ages and from all walks of life? Are intelligent buildings which rely on digital technology susceptible to hacking and will that allow terrorists to turn the lights of a city out? Can we utilise the incredible design and engineering skills of the military to overcome peacetime problems? How did the IRA attack in Manchester in 1996 influence the master-planning of the city?
Stefanie Stead, chair of CIC Y&H, said: “It is vital that in facing new challenges the construction professions work together to create safe and welcoming spaces that everyone in society can enjoy and feel safe in. This is an issue of major importance that our built environment can hugely influence. Our industry is at its best when we work together to find solutions.”
The sixth annual conference of the CIC Yorkshire & Humber Region will take place at The Army Museum in York on 2 November 2016 from 9am till 4pm.
Early Bird ticket prices are available until 15 September.