Ramming attacks, pedestrians, and the securitization of streets and urban public space: a case study of New York City

Over the last decade, vehicles have been used as weapons to target, kill, and injure pedestrians in cities such as London, New York, and Berlin. In response to these attacks, governments are implementing new policies and physical interventions to securitize pedestrian spaces. A previous wave of urban securitization hardened buildings against explosives delivered by vehicles, but ramming attacks, by using the vehicles themselves as weapons, challenge established ideas about relationships between pedestrians and automobility. In this paper, we explore the conceptual shifts that need to accompany planning and designing for security from vehicle-ramming attacks, as compared to traditional anti-terrorism efforts. Using New York City as a case study, we review the design strategies cities are using to prevent vehicle-ramming attacks, and consider the potential trade-offs between these securitization efforts, contemporary models of street design, and the everyday use of urban public spaces.