In the last year, thousands nation-wide have lost their jobs and been evicted from their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of this, homelessness is on the rise and many states do not have adequate resources to assist those who have been displaced. However, most states did not have the resources to assist their pre-COVID homeless population and have neglected the issue for decades.
The leading causes of homelessness in the United States are a lack of affordable housing; unemployment; poverty; mental illness and the lack of needed services; and substance abuse and the lack of needed services. Rather than addressing the issues that cause homelessness directly, many US states have opted to circumvent them and prioritize the aesthetic of cities over the wellbeing of homeless citizens.
Hostile architecture, or more specifically anti-homeless architecture, was born from this circumvention. While cities funnel money away from social programs to assist the homeless, they pour money into architecture that prevents many homeless people from even having a place to sleep at night.
Upon first glance, most hostile architecture does not seem to be intentionally harmful. Anti-homeless architecture can be very subtle, and creating it can be as simple as putting extra armrests on an otherwise regular park bench. Adding more armrests to the center of a bench prevents homeless citizens from sleeping there overnight. Benches have also been designed to make it physically impossible (and extremely uncomfortable) for a human being to sleep on them. This is often done by creating nice looking but impractical benches or structures, such as slanted or curved benches, or benches that resemble abstract art.
Another “solution” cities have found to the presence of homeless citizens in public spaces are what are referred to as “ghost amenities.” In places that there should otherwise be benches, tables, or just any space for people to sit, cities have neglected to add these. Not only does this affect the homeless, but also makes the space less accessible to people who are disabled.
Unfortunately, city planners did not stop at uncomfortable benches in order to combat the presence of homeless people in public spaces. There has also been a concerted effort to prevent the homeless from sleeping near buildings through the installation of spikes or rocks. Oftentimes there will be giant strips of spikes, or large patches of gravel, or even large rocks staged to prevent homeless citizens from resting there. Not only are these installations harmful to the homeless population, but they are potentially very dangerous to the general population. Despite the potential for unintended consequences, this type of hostile architecture continues to be installed.
All hope is not lost, however. This type of hostile architecture can be combated. The people responsible for these designs are very often city planners, who in some places are elected officials, but are very often appointed by the mayor. Participating in local elections can make all the difference in the treatment of the homeless and the presence of hostile architecture. Cast your ballot in the mayoral election when the time comes and make a difference.
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