Why is it that the majority of prisons built in the United States are designed by multinational companies only interested in meeting all required objectives laid out by their contractee, be it the United States government or various state-run correctional bureau? In our text, (Gruman) the authors in Chapter 13 posit a form of this question by defining social design as “a process by which any building may be designed in collaboration with those who will actually use that building….as opposed to being designed solely by an architect who will never use that building.” A prison not built by the latter would be safer, more efficient, and produce less recidivism than traditionally built prisons.
It’s logical to think that a prison could be designed and built with the input of former prisoners who have been rehabilitated as consultants or experienced guards. This process would follow the characteristics of social design. Social design enables the users of the building to have an input on it’s design, which in the case of prisons, could have life or death consequences. Prison violence, sexual or otherwise, is rampant in the United States. One article cited below highlighted the state of Alabama’s prison violence so rampant that its’ corrections system had “a homicide rate eight times the national average.” (The New Republic)
Other than prison violence, recidivism rates amongst the US prison population could also be improved upon by drawing on social design initiatives. A constant fear of violence and sexual assault ensures inmates must draw on the same bad habits that landed them in prison in order to survive. This can lead to very high rates of the vicious cycle of recidivism. One Department of Justice report noted “66% of prisoners released across 24 states in 2008 were arrested within 3 years, and 82% were arrested within 10 years.” (DOJ, 2018). If prisons had more anti-violence designs along with inside advice from those who have experienced time in prison these statistics could be better.
In conclusion, principles of environmental psychology such as social design should be applied in the design of new prisons in the United States or revamps of current facilities. This investment will lead to less cost of returning prisoners to the same system and reduce the level of violence perpetrated in these facilities.
Ford, Matt. “The Everyday Brutality of America’s Prisons.” The New Republic, 5 Apr. 2019, newrepublic.com/article/153473/everyday-brutality-americas-prisons.
https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/recidivism-prisoners-released-24-states-2008-10-year-follow-period-2008-2018
Mishra, U., Sharma, A., & Nasir, S. (2020). IMPROVING PRISONERS PSYCHOLOGY THROUGH ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN. 8(6), 2320–2882. https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2006350.pdf
Tags: #AppliedSocialPsychology