Base Enclosure
Landscape architecture students are drafted to conceptualize a landscape-friendly approach to base security.
By Alan Mather

Security is in the forefront of national attention as a result of the September 11 attacks, especially within the government. But federal facilities had already been ratcheting up security following earlier incidents such as the attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma in 1995, the bomb attack on Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, and the attacks on the embassies in Africa in 1998.

The challenge for government—as for private industry—is to reach the desired level of protection without turning every facility into a bunker or fortress. Achieving that goal can be difficult when the typical quick solutions are jersey barriers and guardrails. One solution that has been successfully implemented at the Joint Interagency Task Force East (JIATF East) site in Key West, Florida, is the application of the principles of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) to provide subtle yet effective defenses. JIATF East's application of CPTED principles grew out of an innovative partnership with landscape architecture and planning students at the University of Florida. The partnership offered the federal facility a cost-effective way to achieve its objectives.

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