Hostile Architecture
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Hostile architecture is an urban-design strategy that uses elements of the built environment to purposefully guide or restrict behaviour. It often targets people who use or rely on public space more than others, such as youth, poor people, and
homeless people Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...
, by restricting the physical behaviours they can engage in. Also known as defensive architecture, hostile design, unpleasant design, exclusionary design, and defensive urban design, the term hostile architecture is often associated with items like "anti-homeless spikes" – studs embedded in flat surfaces to make sleeping on them uncomfortable and impractical. This form of architecture is most commonly found in densely populated and urban areas. Other measures include sloped
window sill A windowsill (also written window sill or window-sill, and less frequently in British English, cill) is the horizontal structure or surface at the bottom of a window. Window sills serve to structurally support and hold the window in place. The ...
s to stop people sitting; benches with
armrest An armrest is a part of a chair, where a person can rest their arms on. Armrests are built into a large variety of chairs such as automotive chairs, armchairs, sofas, and more. Adjustable armrests are commonly found in ergonomic office chairs. ...
s positioned to stop people lying on them; water sprinklers that spray intermittently; and public trash bins with inconveniently small mouths to prevent the insertion of bulky wastes. Hostile architecture is also employed to deter
skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...
, BMXing,
inline skating Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...
, littering,
loitering Loitering is the act of remaining in a particular public place for a prolonged amount of time without any apparent purpose. While the laws regarding loitering have been challenged and changed over time, loitering is still illegal in various j ...
,
public urination Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...
, and
trespassing Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...
, and as a form of pest control.


Background

Although the term "hostile architecture" is recent, the use of
civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
to achieve social engineering is not: antecedents include 19th century
urine deflector A urine deflector is a device for deflecting the stream of urine during urination. These may be part of a chamber pot, latrine or toilet intended for the purpose, or they may be hostile architecture, deterrents. They may be constructed in variou ...
s and urban planning in the United States designed for segregation. American urban planner
Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...
designed a stretch of Long Island
Southern State Parkway The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway; abbreviated as SO on Road signs in the United States, signage) is a limited-access highway on Long Island, New York (state), New York, in the United States. The pa ...
with low stone bridges so that buses could not pass under them. This made it more difficult for people who relied on public transportation, mainly African Americans, to visit the beach that wealthier car-owners could visit. Outside of the United States, public space design change for the purpose of social control also has historic precedent: the narrow streets of 19th century Paris, France were made wider for the purpose of allowing the military easier ability to quash protests. Its modern form is derived from the design philosophy
Crime Prevention through Environmental Design Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is an agenda for manipulating the built environment to create safer neighborhoods. It originated in America around 1960, when urban renewal strategies were felt to be destroying the social fram ...
(CPTED), which aims to prevent crime or protect property through three strategies: natural surveillance, natural access control, and territorial enforcement. According to experts, exclusionary design is becoming increasingly common, not least in large cities such as
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. Consistent with the widespread implementation of defensible space guidelines in the 1970s, most implementations of CPTED as of 2004 were based solely upon the theory that the proper design and effective use of the built environment could reduce crime, reduce fear of crime, and improve quality of life. Built environment implementations of CPTED seek to dissuade offenders from committing crimes by manipulating the built environment in which those crimes proceed or occur. The six main concepts according to Moffat are territoriality, surveillance, access control, image/maintenance, activity support and target hardening. Applying all of these strategies is key when trying to prevent crime in any neighborhood, crime-ridden or not. Beyond CPTED, scholarly research has also found that modern capitalist cities have a vested interest in eliminating signs of homelessness from their communal spaces, fearing that it might discourage investment from wealthier individuals and highlight the shortcomings of their economic model. In England, much of their hostile architecture has been attributed to a desire by the government to combat an anti-social street scene, taking the form of begging and street drinking.


Identifying hostile architecture

Some forms of hostile architecture are easily recognized, while others could be interpreted as either exclusionary or non-exclusionary, such as spaced-out singular chairs constructed at a playground in Sweden, which may appear intentionally designed to dissuade homeless sleeping, or as an acknowledgement that Swedes consider it impolite to sit near strangers. Some researchers have said that hostile architecture should be evaluated within the wider context of the community, and should recognize the social and political forces motivating a particular design choice, such as
anti-homelessness legislation Anti-homelessness legislation can take two forms: legislation that aims to help and re-house homeless people; and legislation that is intended to send homeless people to homeless shelters compulsorily, or to criminalize homelessness and begging. ...
or sentiments.


Applications


Camping deterrents

In
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, United States, the city government installed bicycle racks to prevent homeless people from camping. Since 2013, the
Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...
in
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, United States deployed large boulders at eight locations that had been the site of transient camps in
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
. These boulders were installed to deter illegal camping near the freeways.


Fences or grates

Fences or grates are a common form of exclusionary design, often used to prevent access to places where there is protection from the elements, for example under stairs, bridges, or near fan systems that blow out hot air. In the spring of 2015, the City of Stockholm, Sweden, erected a fence to prevent homeless people from seeking shelter under a staircase in
Kungsholmen Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of central Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland. Its area is with a perimeter of . The highest point is at ...
.


Sleeping deterrents

In many large cities, for example
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
and
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, benches have been designed to prevent people from sleeping on them. These benches have been constructed so that the seat slopes at an angle, which requires the user to support themselves entirely with their feet; such benches are ubiquitous on
bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
s across the United Kingdom. Another deterrent design is to include
armrest An armrest is a part of a chair, where a person can rest their arms on. Armrests are built into a large variety of chairs such as automotive chairs, armchairs, sofas, and more. Adjustable armrests are commonly found in ergonomic office chairs. ...
s placed down the center of the bench, preventing the user from laying down across the seats.
Camden Borough Council Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Camden is divided into 18 wards, each electing ...
in London commissioned concrete-block benches (dubbed "
Camden bench The Camden bench is a type of concrete street furniture. It was commissioned by Camden London Borough Council and installed in Camden, London, in 2012. It is designed specifically to influence the behaviour of the public by restricting certa ...
es") designed to discourage uses such as sleeping, skateboarding and placing stickers. There are other variants, in which level differences are absent but they tend to be either too short to lie on, or have iron pipes placed two-thirds of the way in, or multiple armrests placed along the entire length of the bench. Such benches are common in airports. When the
City Tunnel City Tunnell may refer to: * City Tunnel (Malmö), a railway tunnel in Sweden * Cross City Tunnel, a road tunnel in Sydney, Australia * Frankfurt City Tunnel, a railway tunnel in Germany * Offenbach City Tunnel, a railway tunnel in Germany * Leipzi ...
in
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, Sweden, was opened in 2010, the design of the benches on the new train platforms was reported to the
Equality Ombudsman The Equality Ombudsman ( sv, Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, , discrimination ombudsman, DO; formerly sv, Jämställdhetsombudsmannen, , equality ombudsman, label=none, JämO) is a government agency in Sweden tasked with supervising the laws relat ...
because the benches were tilted so much that they were difficult to impossible to use for sitting. The Swedish state-owned real estate company
Jernhusen Jernhusen AB owns and runs railway stations and other buildings attached to the railway network in Sweden. The company was formed on 1 January 2001 as part of the break-up of Statens Järnvägar The Swedish State Railways ( sv, Statens Järn ...
has also used so-called "homeless-proof" benches at the train station in Luleå, with seven iron bars at intervals per bench. Jernhusen's press officer maintained that they "put in the armrests primarily to make it easier for the elderly and disabled to sit and stand up" but admitted in an interview that the perceived orderliness problems at the station building influenced how the benches were designed. Another example of a company that has installed such benches is
Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe The (German: 'Berlin Transport Company') is the main public transport company of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It manages the city's underground railway, tram, bus, replacement services (, EV) and ferry networks, but not the urban ra ...
, Berlin's local public transport company. Some examples of sleeping deterrents take the form of temporary changes to buildings. An example of this occurred in a
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
building, previously the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
headquarters, in December 2016. A blue sloping steel structure covered in oil was placed over the stairs at night, so that the homeless who used to sleep and rest on the stairs would not stay there.


Spikes

They can occur as spikes, bumps or other types of pointed structures. They are typically placed on ledges outside buildings, under roofs or other places where people seek rest or shelter, and also around shops. The property management company Jernhusen uses a variant by placing pipes instead of spikes in several places at
Stockholm Central Station Stockholm Central Station ( sv, Stockholms centralstation) is a railway station in Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated in the district of Norrmalm at Vasagatan/Central Plan. The station opened on 18 July 1871 and it had over 200,000 visitors dai ...
. In 2014, images circulated on the internet of a place in London where homeless people used to sleep. The ground had been fitted with sharp upward-pointing spikes to get rid of people who used to sleep there, but after widespread protests, the anti-homeless spikes were removed. There are also anti-homeless spikes which are intended to ensure that people do not, for example, sit against a house wall, or stand in a particular place. It is difficult to adequately assess how many different types exist, but it is certain that there are many types of the phenomenon, including split bricks which form cracks, various forms of bent metal pipes, and plates welded upwards to form spikes. Former UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
has called the spikes "stupid".


Security cameras

One of the most common forms of hostile architecture takes the form of surveillance. Indeed, while security cameras do not physically prevent people from engaging in certain behaviors, they can restrict actions in public spaces through enabling remote oversight and increasing the fear of retaliation for socially taboo actions. In cities like
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, there has been a noted sharp increase in the number of
CCTV cameras A closed-circuit television camera can produce images or recordings for surveillance or other private purposes. Cameras can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras. Walter Bruch was the inventor of the CCTV camera. The main purpose ...
in public spaces since the 1990s.


Urination deterrent


Hostile architecture as art or embellishment

This type of exclusionary design may involve, for example, displaying a large flowerpot where homeless people previously used the pavement to sleep. Other examples that have occurred include a stone painted in rainbow colours, putting out blocking shrubbery on a sidewalk, and "fun" shaped seating.


Music and noise

In Sweden, loudspeakers in Finspång have played music in order to get addicts to leave certain places. In the UK and Germany, so-called anti-loitering devices (see
The Mosquito ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
) have been installed to ensure that young people do not stay in places where they are installed. The devices work by emitting a monotone sound at such a high frequency that most people after adolescence lose the ability to hear it. Critics have stated that the devices constitute a violation of human rights and also comment that the phenomenon would create a "dangerous gap" between young people exposed to it and older people who can avoid it. In Germany, classical music has been used in an attempt to keep drug users away. In
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, a plan to use
atonal music Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a ...
at
S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
stations has been withdrawn after criticism.


Removal

Sometimes exclusionary design is not about adding features, but rather about taking them away. Fredrik Edin, who has written a book on exclusionary design, says that removal is the most common type of exclusionary design, where, for example, benches used by the public are removed precisely because they are used by the public. One example is when representatives of the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
announced via social media in 2021 that "benches were removed from stations to prevent the homeless from sleeping on them." The agency later said the tweet was a mistake. Benches at certain locations at Stockholm Central Station were removed in 2015 in favour of chairs and benches were also removed at Luleå railway station. Their press officer stated that they had problems with the station being used as a warming shelter. Many public toilets have begun to be removed in the UK in places considered to be untidy.


Sprinklers

Sprinklers can be found in areas where spikes are considered too permanent; this solution involves spraying water on those staying in a particular place at a particular time. In New Zealand,
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
City Councillor
Cathy Casey Cathy Casey is a New Zealand politician who was an Auckland Councillor, for the Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward, prior to her 2022 retirement. She has a particular interest in social issues, such as taking a strong stance against bylaws restricting or ...
described sprinklers being used by businesses in the city as "inhumane". The Strand Bookstore in New York used such a system in 2013 to deter homeless people sleeping outside the store at night.
Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...
in San Francisco was criticised for an external sprinkler system that it claimed was used to clean "building and perimeter sidewalks during non-business hours intermittently over a 48-hour period", and which was also a point where homeless people gathered.


Public reception

Opposition to hostile architecture in urban design states that such architecture makes public spaces hostile to all people and especially targets the transient and homeless populations. Proponents say that clearly establishing a sense of ownership over the space helps maintain order and safety and deter crime and unwanted behaviors. In 2018, British artist Stuart Semple created a social media public awareness campaign encouraging the public to place identifying stickers on instances of hostile design in their environment. Examples of hostile architecture circulating within UK media have led to negative reception. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation warned that homelessness in London is rising significantly faster than the nationwide average. Nonetheless, types of hostile architecture have increased. For example,
Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...
in Manchester installed metal spikes outside for the purpose of reducing "litter and smoking," which suggests hostile architecture may be implicated for one reason but explained by another.


Artistic response

* In 2001,
Nils Norman Nils Norman (born 1966) is an artist living in London. He works across the disciplines of public art, architecture and urban planning. His projects challenge notions of the function of public art and the efficacy of mainstream urban planning and l ...
published the book ''The Contemporary Picturesque'', which contains photographs he has taken of exclusionary design since the 1990s. * In 2003, two Parisians, Stéphane Argillet and Gilles Paté, filmed the film (''The Fakir's Rest''), which shows them attempting to rest on various objects that characterize exclusionary design in Paris. * In 2005, American artist and researcher Sarah Ross documented exclusionary design in Los Angeles in her series ''Tempting Resistance''. Her 2006 follow-up, ''Archisuits'', created clothing that was designed to work with exclusionary design – to make sleep possible. * In 2013–2014, an installation in Norrköping, Sweden, called "Modified Social Benches" by Danish artist
Jeppe Hein Jeppe Hein (born 1974, Copenhagen, Denmark) is an artist based in Berlin and Copenhagen.Stuart Semple created a social media platform to encourage the public to place identifying stickers where they spotted exclusionary designs in public spaces.


Impacts of hostile architecture

Making the built environment hostile to undesirable people, such as skateboarders or people without stable housing, also has the effect of making it hostile to elderly people, people with disabilities, tired workers, pregnant women, people caring for young children, and other desirable people. Up to this point, there has not been a wide scale empirical study that has measured the impact of Hostile architecture on the wellbeing of homeless people or other targeted populations. Some members of England's homeless community interviewed by researchers have noted that hostile design contributes to their displacement and feelings of insignificance, as it appears that local business interests are prioritized over their survival. Designing infrastructure to be exclusionary encourages those experiencing homelessness to seek out
homeless shelters Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously re ...
, which are comparably safer and more comfortable than general public spaces; a study of Massachusetts' homeless population found that those in homeless shelters had a nearly three times lower risk of overall mortality compared to those who slept outdoors or in public areas not designed for resting.


Gallery

File:Controversial BPF Miami.jpg, Spikes added around fountain in Government Center,
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, in 2011 at downtown transit center File:Grind-prevention.jpg, Ledge with
skatestopper Skatestoppers are skate-deterrent or anti-skate devices placed on urban terrain features such as benches and handrails to discourage skateboarders grinding on the surfaces where they have been installed;(1) .(2) (3) (4) . they are a form of ho ...
s preventing skateboarders from
grinding Grind is the cross-sectional shape of a blade. Grind, grinds, or grinding may also refer to: Grinding action * Grinding (abrasive cutting), a method of crafting * Grinding (dance), suggestive club dancing * Grinding (video gaming), repetitive and ...
File:Spiked Ledge Boston.jpg, Spikes on a ledge in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to prevent sleeping or sitting File:Spiked stone handrail of the Saint Martin church in Obourg (DSC 1373).jpg, Spiked handrail, presumably preventing users from sliding down File:Anti-Homeless Floor Spikes.jpg, Floor spikes in Shoreditch, London, U.K, designed to prevent people from sleeping on the ground.


See also

* ''
Architecture terrible ' was an architectural style advocated by French architect Jacques-François Blondel in his nine-volume treatise ' (1771–77). Blondel promoted the style for the exterior design of prisons: the form of the building itself would proclaim its fun ...
'' *
Area denial weapon An area denial weapon is a defensive device used to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing an area of land, sea or air. The specific method used does not have to be totally effective in preventing passage (and sometimes is not) as lo ...
*
Bird control spike A bird control spike, also known as an anti-roosting spike, pigeon spike, or roost modification, is a device consisting of long, needle-like rods used for bird control. Bird control spikes can be attached to building ledges, street lighting, and co ...
* Defensible space theory *
Defensive design Defensive design is the practice of planning for contingencies in the design stage of a project or undertaking. Essentially, it is the practice of anticipating all possible ways that an end-user could misuse a device, and designing the device so ...
*
Functionalism (architecture) In architecture, functionalism is the principle that buildings should be designed based solely on their purpose and function. This principle is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern archite ...
*
Long-term nuclear waste warning messages Long-term nuclear waste warning messages are communication attempts intended to deter human intrusion at nuclear waste repositories in the far future, within or above the order of magnitude of 10,000 years. Nuclear semiotics is an interdisciplina ...


References


External links

* Cara Chellew,
Bars, barriers and ghost amenities: Defensive urban design in Toronto
' ''Torontoist.'' * Lloyd Alter,
Hostile design doesn't work for any age group
' ''Mother Nature Network.'' * Cara Chellew,
Defensive Inequalities
' ''Spacing Magazine.'' * {{cite web, title=When Design Is Hostile On Purpose, url=http://www.popsci.com/unpleasant-design, website=Popsci, date=28 July 2016 , publisher=Popsci, access-date=16 August 2017
HostileDesign.org
Project homepage of Stuart Semple sticker campaign. Class discrimination Discrimination against the homeless Homelessness Skateboarding Social engineering (political science) Urban design