Hostile architecture hurts people

The first time I experienced hostile architecture, I didn’t know there was a name for it. All I wanted was a place to rest. My hands were full of shopping bags, I was probably pregnant, one or two of my children were with me.

I headed toward the concrete planters in front of a local mall. These planters had always looked like a great place to sit, and I often wondered why no one did. I eagerly headed toward them. As I got closer, I noticed that the tops of the planters had sharp rocks that jutted upward. I walked around the planter, thinking that there would be a smooth spot to sit, but the sharp rocks were built in all around. So I stood, or paced, till my ride showed up and I was whisked away from this urban mini-nightmare. Needless to say, I learned my lesson and make it a point to never loiter in that area. Those pointy rocks are hostile architecture.

Prior to this experience, I had noticed bumps on stair rails at various places but hadn’t really understood their purpose. I noticed more of this type of thing when I travelled. Spikes on stone walls and beams, knobs on surfaces. I figured out that some of this was to keep pigeons from nesting in undesirable locations. Fair enough. Then someone told me that the bumps on stair rails were meant to keep kids from skateboarding down them. Those bumps, and the spikes, are examples of hostile architecture.

Who thinks it is smart to push kids out of the places where people shop and do business and push them to skate parks where less-upstanding members of society can prey on them without anyone really watching? Probably no one thinks this is a good idea, but it is what happens when kids are pushed out of the way by things like hostile architecture. Kids aren’t dumb.

Businesses that install hostile architecture are trying to prevent further loss that comes from their storefronts becoming unappealing (and occasionally hostile) due to people living on their sidewalks and in their storefronts (and all the things that come with that) because they have nowhere else to go.

As adults, we need to come to terms with our responsibility to include those who aren’t exactly like us in our communities. Children and teens need to be considered and planned for in our planning and design, so that they can feel welcome in our public spaces. Our design and architecture shouldn’t push them away so that we don’t hear them or even see them.

As a society, we decided mental institutions were barbaric, so we closed most of them. We made the residents find their own way in the world. But tell me what is more barbaric than making their often-miserable lives even more miserable by denying them a place to live, to relieve themselves, or to rest by installing hostile

As adults, we need to come to terms with our responsibility to include those who aren’t like us in our communities.

architecture?

Our communities, our retail stores, businesses, and restaurants need a welcoming atmosphere to thrive. The hustle and bustle of people coming and going. People meeting and talking on the sidewalk, sitting down to have a chat, sitting on a bench or leaning against a wall to rest. The laughter and giggles of children. Young people showing off, and adults chuckling when they fail, or cheering them when they succeed. This makes a nice atmosphere. It builds community. It should be our normal.

Hostile architecture represents a failure. It is a failure in design. It is a failure in making space for everyone. Hostile architecture is for the birds, not humans.