Suicide by jumping is a difficult but important life-safety issue in dense urban environments, where high-rise buildings, bridges, and elevated public spaces are part of everyday life. While this subject can be uncomfortable to discuss, it presents a meaningful opportunity for architects to contribute to public health and safety through thoughtful design.
This course introduces the topic in a clear and accessible way, beginning with a brief overview of how environmental factors—including building height, guardrail design, and access to edges—can influence risk. Participants will be introduced to the public-health concept of means safety, which focuses on reducing access to highly lethal conditions during periods of acute vulnerability. Research shows that small changes to the built environment can help prevent irreversible outcomes while creating time for intervention and support.
Through a combination of presentation and moderated roundtable discussion, the course explores case studies where design interventions—such as raised railings and protective barriers—have improved safety outcomes without compromising usability or aesthetics. Panelists from architecture, public health, and suicide prevention will provide multiple perspectives on how these strategies can be responsibly integrated into practice.
The course is designed for participants at all levels of familiarity with the topic. It emphasizes the architect’s role in evaluating elevated conditions, understanding the life-safety implications of design decisions, and engaging with clients and stakeholders in ways that prioritize health, safety, and welfare.
Speakers:
Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD, Senior Vice President, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Michael Grunebaum, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University
Kelli Peterman, Director of Suicide Prevention Initiatives, NYC Health Department
Claire Weisz, FAIA, Hon. FRAIC, Hon. FASLA, Founding Principal, WXY architecture + urban design
About the Speakers:
Jill Harkavy-Friedman is the Senior Vice President of Research and leads the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s research program which funds research grants, offers workshops and training to researchers, and disseminates research findings to increase public awareness and support advocacy. During her 40 years as a clinician and researcher, Harkavy-Friedman has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and editorials and trained clinicians nationwide. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Harkavy-Friedman earned her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, her PhD. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida, and completed her internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital. After, she joined Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, establishing the Adolescent Depression and Suicide Program. In 1989, she moved to Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute where she was an associate professor in the department of psychiatry until 2025. Harkavy-Friedman joined AFSP in 2011 and maintained a clinical practice in Manhattan for almost 40 years.
Michael F. Grunebaum is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and is a research psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. His areas of expertise include the diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders, with a focus on suicidal behavior and clinical trial research. Dr. Grunebaum graduated magna cum laude and phi beta kappa from Harvard College in 1983 and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1991. He completed his residency in psychiatry at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, in 1995. He completed the Public Psychiatry Fellowship at Columbia University-New York State Psychiatric Institute and received his board certification in psychiatry in 1996. Dr. Grunebaum is a recipient of NARSAD Young Investigator and Independent Investigator awards, an NIMH patient-oriented research career development K Award, and an NIMH R01 grant to conduct treatment studies in adults with mood disorders and a history of suicidality. He is a research psychiatrist on other federally funded clinical studies of mood disorders and suicidal behavior in the Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Division. Dr. Grunebaum teaches psychiatry residents and other trainees. He is a peer reviewer for numerous psychiatric journals and a member of the American Psychiatric Association. He is an author of more than 50 peer reviewed articles and other publications. Dr. Grunebaum also has a general adult private practice of psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.
Kelli Peterman is the Director of Suicide Prevention Initiatives at the NYC Health Department, where she leads citywide strategies to prevent suicide through programs, policy, systems change, and cross-sector collaborations. With a background in public health and urban planning, Peterman’s work focuses on addressing the social and environmental factors that shape individual and collective well-being. She leads the Safer Buildings NYC, a cross-sector initiative to advance evidence-informed and innovative strategies to prevent suicides associated with NYC buildings. Peterman received her Masters in City and Regional Planning at Pratt Institute’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment.
Claire Weisz is Founding Principal of WXY architecture + urban design, a New York and Toronto-based practice recognized for community-centered work at the intersection of architecture, planning, infrastructure, and the public realm. Raised in Edmonton and educated at the University of Toronto and Yale, Weisz brings a long-standing commitment to cities as shared civic environments, shaped through design, policy, ecology, and public engagement. Her work includes the redesign of Astor Place in Manhattan, the reconstruction of the Rockaway Boardwalk following Superstorm Sandy, and the Glass City Riverwalk in Toledo. She is also a co-founder of The Design Trust for Public Space and a recipient of the AIA New York Medal of Honor and Architectural Record’s Women in Architecture Award.
AIANY Public Architecture Committee
