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[tw: suicide]
I've been struggling with the news about The Vessel. The stairs have been the focus of disability critique, but we don't often talk about mental health and vulnerable populations in design. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/nyregion/hudson-yards-suicide-vessel.html?referringSource=articleShare
I've been struggling with the news about The Vessel. The stairs have been the focus of disability critique, but we don't often talk about mental health and vulnerable populations in design. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/nyregion/hudson-yards-suicide-vessel.html?referringSource=articleShare
Obviously the societal conditions that would cause a place to become a nexus of self-harm (certain university structures here in TO come to mind) are a key factor, but when it comes to harm reduction, imo environment should always help, not hinder, vulnerable populations.
We are starting to see powerful conversations about the harms of defensive and hostile design, especially as it relates to abelist, but there is something to be said for when protections are removed and vulnerable populations are harmed.
I'm not sure what the solution is. There were people sounding the alarm on this topic re: safety of the design when the building first opened, it is a shame those predictions came to pass, and to not consider the possibility is, I think, a form of abelism. https://twitter.com/TedGrunewald/status/776263437919944704
All told, it's a complex issue that is not well understood. But there is some study on it locally: @seanmaciel, here talking about the screen installed at the once notorious Bloor Street Viaduct reducing suicides across the city. https://twitter.com/seanmaciel/status/1349351671168708608
And the article he's refering to: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/06/20/barrier-at-bloor-street-viaduct-significantly-reduced-suicides-study-suggests.html
Anyhow that's it for this thread. I know The Vessel is dunkable, but would appreciate no riffing on this thread specifically.
Wrapping with the number of Canada’s National Suicide Prevention Line: 1-833-456-4566.
Wrapping with the number of Canada’s National Suicide Prevention Line: 1-833-456-4566.
(also want to add that I'm not laying the blame of this one on any one party; this takes a system of failures across disciplines, policies, etc.
