Sharp Corners

Big cities, big problems.

April 2021

Hidden between the alluring skyscrapers and the bustling night-life of America’s big cities, is a darker and less welcoming piece of the urban landscape: hostile architecture.

Although hostile architecture has always been a part of urban life, a debate over the use and effects of the practice has recently sparked. While some argue that the designs are a necessary addition to the urban landscape in order to keep the public orderly, others argue that the designs are anti-homeless and are inherently cruel, especially as homeless populations rise in America’s big cities.

Hostile architecture – the hard metal armrests to prevent people from laying down and the spikes on railings to keep birds away, to name a few-- is meant to force city-goers to use infrastructures in only one way; benches are to be sat on and street signs to be looked at. The practice is meant to force citizens along, preventing them from using public infrastructure freely. Hostile architecture can be dated back to even the medieval times when citizens were discouraged from urinating at building corners with the use of stone mounds. Since then, hostile architecture has evolved to become more elegant, even if its harsh intentions remain the same. Now, artfully uneven edges prevent teens from skating on stair railings and contemporary-looking metal bars staccato public benches to prevent the homeless from resting. In public spaces, where the public should be welcomed, hostile architecture does an impressive job of telling the public to keep moving.

According to an article from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, “The number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness increased by nearly 17,000 in 2019 to 211,000.” However, despite the recent uptick in homelessness, anti-homeless policies and practices have only gotten harsher. According to National Law on Homelessness and Poverty, “187 American cities [. . .] found that bans on ‘sitting down and lying down in public’ have increased by 52 percent,” while the trend of hostile architecture has been on the rise since the late 1980s. Unfortunately, the increase in hostile architecture, combined with bans on how to use public spaces, affects homeless populations disproportionately. Unsheltered homeless people are more prone to seek safe haven in public areas, such as sleeping on public benches or finding shelter from the elements underneath store awnings. The anti-homeless policies and infrastructures specifically target the homeless populations so that they can no longer seek their safe haven in public areas. The benches that the homeless relied on for rest have been fitted with spikes so that they can no longer rest, and even the lack of public restrooms can be considered hostile architecture, meant to be used as a deterrent against those that do not have access to private washrooms of their own.

Response to increasing hostile architecture has been mixed, as some argue in favor of the designs and others fight against them. One user commented under a New York Times article on hostile architecture, arguing, “public spaces were improved and casual restaurants proliferated [because of hostile architecture].” His opinion reflects that of many proponents of hostile architecture, who generally believe that the style of architecture is absolutely necessary for the maintenance of cities. Where people are crowded together, more hostile architecture is necessary in order to keep loiterers out of public spaces and the homeless from overtaking the environment. However, others argue that the harsh adaptations are unnecessary, and unjustly punish those that have nowhere else to go. According to an article from KQED, “At its worst, hostile design prevents society’s most vulnerable populations from finding sanctuary or rest.”

Those that argue against the use of hostile architecture even took to the internet to express their dissatisfaction with the unsavory building additions. In 2018, when more hostile architecture designs were being implemented in Seattle and throughout the UK, the hashtag #hostilearchitecture, began trending, flooding the tag with images of both old and new examples of the designs. Everything from benches to strategically placed gardening sprinklers was uploaded under the hashtag. Each design had one thing in common: they were designed to keep the public out, and especially the homeless populations. Although it is not explicitly stated, hostile architecture is undoubtedly created to discourage the comfort of the homeless populations, and only perpetuates a harsh cycle of injustices against marginalized communities.

Sources
Blanco, Lina. “BART's Fare Evasion Crackdown Exposes the 'Deadly Elegance' of Hostile Design.” KQED, KQED , 23 July 2019, www.kqed.org/arts/13861966/barts-fare-evasion-crackdown-exposes-the-deadly-elegance-of-hostile-design.
Fraieli, Andrew, and Brooke Sellers. “Hostile Architecture: The Indirect Public Fight on the Homeless.” Homeless Voice, Homeless Voice , 3 Feb. 2021, homelessvoice.org/hostile-architecture-the-indirect-public-fight-on-the-homeless/.
Frost, Riordan. “Homelessness Was on the Rise, Even before the Pandemic.” Homelessness Was on the Rise, Even before the Pandemic | Joint Center for Housing Studies, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University , 16 Dec. 2020, www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/homelessness-was-rise-even-pandemic.
Hu, Winnie. “'Hostile Architecture': How Public Spaces Keep the Public Out.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/nyregion/hostile-architecture-nyc.html#commentsContainer.
Kilbane, John Michael, and Michelle Legro. “The City That Will Never Let You Sleep.” Topic, Topic, 6 May 2019, www.topic.com/the-city-that-will-never-let-you-sleep.
Wallace, Elizabeth. “What's Behind the Uptick in Hostile Architecture?” Architectural Digest, Architectural Digest, 22 Mar. 2018, www.architecturaldigest.com/story/hostile-architecture.