Counterterrorism protective security as part of the planning, design and development of crowded places in Australia: where are we now?

Abstract

PurposeBetween 2013 and 2016 Western countries experienced a nearly 600% increase in terrorist attacks. Among the most significant shift in terrorism trends during this time is the recent focus on civilians in crowded places as a frequent target. Although crowded places have become critical targets for terrorist attacks, there remains a dearth of research studying crowded places or the built environment practitioner's role in creating crowded places that are as resilient as possible against terrorism.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents the results from 33 in-depth, semi-structured, one-hour interviews with property developers, property investors, property managers, security consultants, designers, planners and government/policy officials in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, Australia. A purposive, snowball sampling method was used to identify participants in the study.FindingsThis research extends the existing literature base on counterterrorism protective security, a distinctly under-researched component of the terrorism research discourse, by developing a baseline of threat considerations considered during the planning, design and development process. This paper presents the Australian results of a first-of-its-kind international study that connects the planning, design and development of real estate in crowded places with planning for protective counterterrorism, and investigates what, when and how counterterrorism protective security (CTPS) is considered in the development process of crowded places. The findings show that a series of common threats were identified across the stakeholder groups, including development risk, development location/site selection, natural phenomena and human-induced issues.Research limitations/implicationsThis research extends the current knowledge base on CTPS and has the potential to influence decision-makers in both the counterterrorism policy landscape and those influential in developing standards for the planning, design, construction and management of real estate assets.Originality/valueAn original contribution of this research is detailing the significant range of threats, impacts of events and organisational influences that exist in informing the real estate development process.