Agustín Lara and Ministriles squares. Lavapiés, Madrid.

Authors: Raúl Alonso Estébanez & Interurbano, as IE University Public Safety Community Programme Urbanism Team Manager.

Coordinator: Miguel Angel Gandarillas Solinis

This report is the first part of a study that advocates the need to include questions of public safety in the challenge of sustainable city planning, encouraging the relationship between users of public spaces and all the professionals involved in their design and development, including architects. An analysis has been carried out at different levels, including a study in the field, applied to the particular cases of the public squares of Agustín Lara –included the “Corrala”, located next to it-, and Ministriles, both at the neighbourhood of Embajadores, Central District of Madrid. We have created design guidelines –physical, social and economic- to make it easy to implement in later stages. Our selection criteria are based on the design, purpose and use of the spaces.

It’s intended to improve understanding or the relationship between the perception of safety among neighbours and users, and the design of both squares, as well as create design guidelines easy to implement and developed in later work phases.

KEYWORDS: Social diversity, public safety, architectural barriers, community living, interdisciplinarity, community town planning, public participation, urban safety, public spaces, citizenship, social integration.