Preventing Suicide With Architecture
This issue is of concern nowhere more than San Francisco, where the Golden Gate Bridge is said to be the world’s most common site for suicide, with more than 1,500 recorded deaths since its opening 75 years ago. There have been calls for decades for a net to be installed on the bridge that would catch any jumpers and, ideally, prevent people from even thinking about jumping in the first place.
Plans to install such a net are currently in the works, and $5 million has been dedicated to prepare a design for the suicide deterrent. But, as critics are quick to point out, that still leaves a hole of $45 million to complete the project. Expensive, sure. But it’s also a project that would likely dissuade people from jumping off the bridge. It would also change the appearance of the bridge, one of the most iconic in the world.
Read more. [Image: Lonely Planet, NYU Local]