Safety sits at the top of our list of basic needs, alongside food and shelter. Humans everywhere ask the built environment to provide both shelter and safety. John Habraken, a revered architect and educator, has investigated the links between urban design and security, and his findings have provoked both admiration and controversy. This interview explores the nature and origins of Habraken's ideas; the implications they hold for the practice of architecture, engineering, and planning; and more broadly, what this means for the relationship between technology and society.