Red Light District Liverpool
In response to the increasing austerity more people, particularly women, are turning to sex work with over 105,000 already operating in unsafe, unregulated & violent working conditions. As sex work becomes an increasing possibility there is growing need to regulate the industry to tackle trafficking, abuse and safety concerns that are already neglected by government approaches. A more radical approach is necessary which tackles the nuances of the thresholds & transitions sex workers experience in their personal and professional life.
Set in 2030, Red Light District Liverpool is a safe haven for sex workers, offering avenues of support, community and safety, providing legalised brothels alongside an inclusive curated local community of students, local residents, sex workers and their clients. Inspired by the policies of Amsterdam and New Zealand the project develops prior legalisation approaches in Leeds to develop a more comprehensive and sustainable political and design strategy addressing issues of stigma, associated crime, substance abuse, exit routes from sex work and violence towards women and girls which can aid the political push for more legalised Red Light Districts nationally.
The project includes the zoning and development of the wider district in Moorfields to incorporate a wider feminist urban strategy centred around personal safety and gender mainstreaming in public spaces and streetscapes. Designed to act as a precedent for making the UK streets safer and more accessible for women developing a design guide checklist alongside the Red Light District Precedent which can be universally applied to new and existing urban developments.
Centred on the human scale of navigating the urban landscape the project explores themes of privacy, discretion, support, and visibility through architectural thresholds of both physical space and intangible barriers.
