Anti-homeless Architecture: The Problems and Solutions

Have you ever walked past a park bench and wondered why it was curved, or had arm rests oddly placed in the centre of it? Surely, it is a simple design choice, or at least has a logical explanation behind it. The real reason behind this is to stop homeless people from sleeping on these benches. Architecture has become hostile and as a result of this, homeless people feel unwelcome in public spaces. This blog post will focus on hostile architecture, in particular anti-homeless architecture; and how examples of it are hidden in plain site and disguised as abstract design choices. I will also look at how architecture can help homelessness and offer them with solutions, instead of more problems.

Image 1- Anti-homeless Spikes (Corbishley, G., 2015.)

Some of the most popular forms of anti-homeless architecture are the spikes placed in covered areas (Wyatt, H., 2022). Image 1 above showcases these spikes and how they stop homeless people from using that covered area to sleep and shelter from the elements. By being visibly aggressive towards the homeless, these spikes reveal the extent to which cities are constructed for the benefit of those who follow societal and political norms (Petty, J., 2016). In addition to the spikes, the different shapes of benches make them very uncomfortable, or even impossible to lie on. Some benches are curved, as to only allow for sitting down, or include arm rests to block off the bench for separate seats (Wyatt, H., 2022).

Image 2- The Fountain Square in Cincinnati, Ohio (Business Wire. n.a.)

An example of hostile architecture is the Fountain Square in Cincinnati, Ohio (image 2 above), where the entire square was redeveloped in 2006 by moving the fountain to the centre and deterring the homeless from using the surrounding areas as shelter, by also including police presence (Zanotto, J., M., 2012). It is things like this which makes homeless people feel unwelcome and unwanted in public spaces- where everyone should feel welcome and safe.

Image 3- Tiny Homes for the Homeless (Drake, K., 2021.)

On the other hand, architecture and design can be used to help homeless people, and decrease the number of people in unsafe environments. For instance, tiny homes (image 3 above) have been designed and built to house homeless people and protect them from harm and danger (Johnson, R., D., 2018). This follows the 'Housing First' belief, where it is considered that homeless people need food and shelter before thinking about jobs, or medical issues (Johnson, R., D., 2018). Therefore, this helps to set them up with the basics and help to take some of the stress away from them.

Although hostile and anti-homeless architecture still exists and is very prominent in most public spaces, there are some ways where architecture, design and good people can help homeless people feel safer, out of danger, more at ease and overall less stressed.

References:

Business Wire. (n.a.) Fifth Third Centre Stage Dedicated on Hometown Fountain Square. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200811005603/en/Fifth-Third-Center-Stage-Dedicated-on-Hometown-Fountain-Square

Corbishley, G., (2015). 'Laying metal studs outside a property sends out a message that is downright aggressive and unfriendly'. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/23/anti-homeless-spikes-inhumane-defensive-architecture

Drake, K., (2021.)Tiny Homes Shelter St. Louisians In Need, But $600K City Project Draws Criticism. Stlpr. https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2021-02-23/tiny-homes-shelter-st-louisans-in-need-but-600k-city-project-draws-criticism

Johnson, R. D. (2018). Homelessness: a critical approach to architecture and planning. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 217, 675-686.

Petty, J. (2016). The London spikes controversy: Homelessness, urban securitisation and the question of ‘hostile architecture’. International Journal for Crime, Justice and SocialDemocracy 5(1): 67‐81. DOI: 10.5204/ijcjsd.v5i1.286

Wyatt, H. (2022). An Exploration of Architectural Solutions to the Marginalization of the Homeless (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon).

Zanotto, J. M. (2012). Public Spaces, Homelessness, and Neo-Liberal Urbanism: A Study of'Anti-Homeless' Strategies on Redeveloped Public Spaces (Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati).