Compassionate 'Justice Architecture' Inspires New Jackson County Jail

Actually . . .

This sounds like very friendly presser copy for the new public safety sales tax as local activists ramp up their complaints. 

However . . .

It's Sunday so we spare a bit of space for this kindly way of thinking about local lock-up . . .

"It won’t be the long gray corridors and cells that they’ve grown accustomed to. Instead, they will see painted walls awash with sunlight, artistic murals and acoustic wall panels. Such is the more humane design for today’s detention centers as championed by a group of architects who belong to the Academy of Architecture for Justice, a subgroup of the American Institute of Architects.

Justice architecture began in 1974 as a government and AIA task force. What it reported then would begin the movement toward a more humane design.  “The confinement of man in barred cages for detention is not correctional and no longer considered humane or within the framework of human dignity,” the group reported. They pushed for a future with “unobtrusive security” and “normalized housing.”

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Can the design of the Jackson County Detention Center help decrease local crime?

"Jackson County is a very good client. They're very progressive and they're committed to promoting evidence-based design."