Homelessness is being criminalized and we need to talk about it…

You know when you are walking around a city and you want to take a seat but all the benches are incredibly uncomfortable because they’re sloped?

Well, this is known as hostile architecture, which is controversial as it denies homeless people the basic human right to sleep. It is subtle and difficult to spot at first but once you know where to look for it, you will find that it is everywhere in our cities! For example, spikes, which are the most violent form of hostile architecture, can be found all over the ground such as under bridges, on windowsills or steps. (Single Homeless Project, 2023)

Spikes under an overpass.

Benches will have armrests to stop people from lying down and even large boulders and plants can deter people from loitering in public spaces. For instance, along the I-5 near Sleater Kinney Road in Washington, USA an encampment was cleared and replaced with large stone boulders, sparking controversy online. Michele Thomas of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance stated that public money should "be used to address the underlying cause, the root causes of homelessness, instead of treating people like pigeons that you want to make disappear." (Santos, 2024)

Sloped Bench

An encampment along I-5 near Sleater Kinney Road in Thurston County was recently cleared and replaced with boulders. Photo: Courtesy of WSDOT

Hostile architecture is unwelcoming and unhelpful often pushing people away from city centres and away from seeking help therefore, making their situation worse, pushing them into more hazardous circumstances! We cannot simply sweep this problem under the rug and forget about it. Treating human beings like pests is immoral! We have to rethink how we approach public spaces, they should uplift people and treat them with respect, dignity empathy and compassion. The UK Government pledged to end rough sleeping by 2024, (Barton & Wilson, 2020) but one look around the streets of London and it is clear that this promise has fallen short.

In addition to this, hostile architecture can sometimes just be the lack of. What I mean by this is when New York City’s Moynihan train hall opened in 2021 its lack of seating sparked outrage online as people had nowhere to comfortably sit, it was so obviously clear that this was to discourage homeless people from sleeping there. (Kabak, 2021) Hostile architecture is not ethical it runs alongside laws that criminalise rough sleepers' behaviour when occupying public spaces. It is cruel and inhuman. 

Moynihan Train Hall, in New York City.

Although some supporters might argue that the public deserves to feel safe from potentially aggressive and dangerous homeless people. The committee behind Moynihan Train Hall responded by saying that if the city’s solution for the homelessness epidemic is to put them on public benches then that’s a pretty stark outlook. Instead, more attention should be placed on building shelters and support centres. (STANDING ORDER: Legislators Demand Public Seating at the Moynihan Train Hall, 2022) What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography:

Single Homeless Project. (2023, October 2). Understanding Hostile Architecture and Its Impact on Homelessness in Cities. Single Homeless Project. https://www.shp.org.uk/understanding-hostile-architecture-and-its-impact-on-homelessness-in-cities

Santos, M. (2024, January 31). I-5 boulders spark debate over “hostile architecture” https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2024/01/31/i5-boulders-anti-homeless-architecture

Barton, C., & Wilson, W. (2020). Rough sleeping (England). Commonslibrary.parliament.uk. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02007/

STANDING ORDER: Legislators Demand Public Seating at the Moynihan Train Hall. (2022, February 4). Nyc.streetsblog.org. https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/02/04/let-them-sit-legislators-demand-public-seating-at-the-moynihan-train-hall

‌Kabak, B. (2021, January 11). Some thoughts on Moynihan Train Hall and designing public spaces with nowhere to sit. Second Ave. Sagas. https://secondavenuesagas.com/2021/01/10/some-thoughts-on-moynihan-train-hall-and-designing-public-spaces-with-nowhere-to-sit

Image Credits:

Ruetas, F. (2020, December 19). 15 Examples of hostile architecture around the world. RTF | Rethinking the Future. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/designing-for-typologies/a2564-15-examples-of-hostile-architecture-around-the-world/

‌Santos, M. (2024, January 31). I-5 boulders spark debate over “hostile architecture” https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2024/01/31/i5boulders-anti-homeless-architecture

Volner, I. (2021, January 13). The Moynihan Train Hall’s Glorious Arrival. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culturedesk/the-moynihan-train-halls-glorious-arrival