Office
Contents
Office
An office is an urban object which accommodates employment facilitating the provision of services. It is where business is conducted, be it of a professional, commercial or beaurocratic nature. In the context of urban security and safety, it is important to consider offices with regard to the potential number of employees (usage of the building). Different office functions and use will determine the floor area per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee. For example, a general office may allow 12 square metres (sq.m.) per FTE, a call centre may provide 8 sq.m. per FTE, while an IT/data centre might provide 47 sq.m. per FTE (given its specific requirements). In addition, offices where public access/services is facilitated will have a level of visitor footfall.
Description
Office based employment enterprises can occur in a wide variety of urban contexts, ranging from city centre locations (often in the upper floor of retail or services buildings in a High Street or city centre context) to large business parks in peripheral locations and which feature a range of differing employment activities. Locational factors will influence the range of transport modes available and utilised for access to offices.
Modern urban areas have a wide variety of office locations available, dependent on the requirements of the individual tenants. Tenant requirements themselves will vary substantially, of as a result of the type of business or the economic sector within which it operates. Large offices with significant workforces will often require extensive floor spaces; the type of office space required to accommodate this type of operation is therefore more suited to more peripheral locations. In comparison, small offices, with less substantial space requirements, can easily be accommodated anywhere within an urban area, from city centre to peripheral locations.
Functions
Social
One of the key social functions of office employment is in the provision of employment for citizens.
Economic
Office space primarily accommodates commercial and public activities performed by individuals and groups of people. Together with residential, retail and industrial areas, office space is one of the most valuable urban spatial structures for the local economy due to its economic impact for the local, regional and national economy (both in terms of office space development[1] and the commercial activities that take place in these premises).
Office areas mostly deal
The most common types of office employment security threats (in terms of human intent) are crime related (e.g., burglary, fraud, white collar crime). Crime generates costs in anticipation of crime (e.g. locks, surveillance, etc.), as a consequence of crime (loss of property) and in response to crime (police investigation, legal system, etc.). As a secondary impact, crime has (amongst others) an economic impact on the local real estate value.
Apart from the more traditional security measures such as policing, alarm systems, surveillance and regulatory bodies, the ‘designing out’ approach in the earliest stages in the planning process can be an effective measure from an economic point of view to prevent security threats and reduce the economical damage.
Residential areas accommodate the people who operate in and utilise the economic systems of the urban area. Additionally, residential areas both enhance a communities’ ability to attract new business, and in the same time provide citizens with one of its most basic needs (housing). As a whole, residential land use is the most valuable urban spatial structure due to its great aggregate value and economic impact for the local economy[2]. Moreover, residential areas foster critical mass which contributes to economic, social and transport (infrastructure) activities. These economic impacts can be estimated with the help of economic tools/techniques.
The most common types of residential security threats (in terms of human intent) are crime related (e.g., domestic burglary, robbery, graffiti, assault, etc.). Crime generates costs in anticipation of crime (e.g. locks, surveillance, etc.), as a consequence of crime (loss of property) and in response to crime (police investigation, legal system, etc.). Indirectly, crime has (amongst others) an impact on, for example, the local real estate value[3].
Security devices such as locks, closed circuit television, surveillance or improved street lightning have an economic impact (in terms of costs and benefits) which can be considerable. Another way to enhance security is by design, e.g. the designing out approach, or as an aspect of sustainable design, which seeks a balanced consideration of social, economic, cultural and environmental aspects in urban design[4]. In general, these measures demand larger investments than traditional security measures, but at the same time they are able to avoid future costs due to the long-term prevention of crime.
Mobility
The mobility requirements of offices will depend on the type of service provided and the number of people employed. Offices in central locations will be able to take advantage of public transportation modes, whereas offices in more peripheral locations will be more dependent on private car use.
Safety
Safety functions associated with offices, include the usual functions such as:
- shelter from the environment (weather)
- prevention and repression of incidents (fires, floods, air quality, etcetera)
- constructional safety (including the dynamic stresses that large crowds can exert)
- facilities to assure a timely retreat to a safe environment for the people present in case of incidents (Evacuation Management).
Security Issues
Security issues associated with offices, are related with the fact that it can be an attractive object for thieves. This is related with the presence of valuables, which would be highly dependent of the use of the office. This makes these kinds of urban objects vulnerable for the following security issues:
Other issues that can be associated with offices, such as fraud and white collar crime are not considered relevant in the context of this Securipedia, as they are out of the urban planner's control.
Measures
The measures for each type of security issue can be found on the respective pages. There are few measures they are specifically suited or unsuited to this kind of urban object, but some general considerations can be mentioned:
- As offices are closed (non public) areas, taking measures for exit and entry screening are in general not a problem, as is surveillance, as long privacy is respected
- For an optimal security policy for the organisation in the office, all aspects of security should be coherently considered in the security strategy. This means that physical/procedural/organisational security measures should be coordinated with cyber/information security and personnel security. If this coordination is not assured, security gaps and overlaps can occur in the security regime, both of which can be detrimental to the level of security.
Footnotes and references
- ↑ Office development creates direct construction activity (primary economic impact, including planning professionals, commercial real estate agents, attorneys, designers, marketing, landscaping, etc.). The secondary impact of construction generates business for a variety of business types such as insurance companies, cleaning services, security companies, etc. On the long term, office space creates local jobs, income and taxes generated by the consumption and other spending of office users (e.g. for lunch, office products, office maintenance, etc.).
- ↑ For example: Residential development creates direct construction activity (primary economic impact), including planning professionals, attorneys, designers, marketing, landscaping, etc.). Indirectly, residential areas create local jobs, income and taxes due to the consumption generated by residential inhabitants.
- ↑ This regards not only violent crimes or domestic burglary, but also petty crimes such as graffiti and vandalism.
- ↑ Including fundamental issues such as how affordability can be reconciled with a secure/safe place to live, and how an imbalance between affluence and deprivation can be prevented.
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