A Comprehensive Design and Policy Toolkit to Better Serve Survivors of Domestic Violence in New York City: Learning from Covid-19

Abstract

The unprecedented crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought into the limelight what many have unfortunately already known to be true, that times of extreme change, urgency, and tension too often correlate to a rise in domestic violence.1 This thesis attempts to address this recent amplification of cruelty, and how it has manifested in the largest public housing agency in North America, NYCHA (The New York City Housing Authority), to advocate for an interdisciplinary reform of both policy and design of shelters that use care to encourage nonviolent, inclusive environments and access to care and healing.

In many ways, the Covid-19 pandemic has intensified conditions that already exist within the realm of domestic violence, including but not limited to isolation, economic insecurity, and trauma. Through an exploration of these connections, as well as a critique of the existing conditions of housing and emergency sheltering in New York City which allow domestic violence to thrive, this thesis provides way to address the current crisis while also both prevent future instances of violence. By doing so, its aim is to aid in the long-term health and healing of survivors and their families.