Sloped bench

This city is not for you. Hostile design was supposed to change behaviours, not ruin cities.

By Marie Salova

These narrow, slightly sloped and slippery benches without a backrest make it very difficult for anyone to sit comfortably for a prolonged period of time, never mind sleep. These are sheltered benches, where any member of the public may choose to rest their feet, but the benches’ position is that little bit too high that even sitting quickly becomes uncomfortable. They are an example of hostile design, also known as defensive, disciplinary or unpleasant design (or architecture), an intentional design strategy that uses elements of the built environment to guide or restrict behaviour in public spaces. It often occurs where there is a disjunction between the intended and actual use of space.  The effect of hostile design can be felt by the majority but mostly impacts those who use or rely on public space more than others, for example, the homeless community.

Hostile design occurs when public spaces are intentionally designed to exclude humans, hinder the use or alter human behaviour. The origin of the term itself is unknown, but hostile architecture has always been part of urban life. The modern phenomenon of Hostile Design is derived from the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) approach which originated in America around 1960. CPTED is a disciplinary approach for reducing crime through urban and environmental design and the management and use of built environments. The CPTED approach aims to prevent crime or protect property through four main principals; natural surveillance, natural access control, territorial enforcement and maintenance.

There are obvious and hidden ways in which hostile design is currently implemented across Dublin but it is often associated with anti-homeless spikes and other aggressive-looking approaches. This bench is a more subtle example. Alternative designs include leaning ‘benches’, one cannot even sit on these benches merely lean against them. There has been an increasing trend to introduce what can only be described as ‘arbitrary armrests’ to public seating design that divides a bench into sections to ensure nobody could (at least not comfortably) sleep on the bench, as with the benches in Smithfield Square, Dublin 7. ‘Arbitrary armrests’ are common in public spaces from parks to airports, they encourage us to sit upright. It seems that the goal of urban furniture today is that it must be as uncomfortable and unappealing as possible for people to sit or lay on.

Benches may also be removed from public spaces and their functions disappear. The council is noticeably removing seating and benches around Dublin. A bench that was there previously may disappear, or when planning for a new space the bench may never make it into the final plans as it gets removed somewhere along the way.

Although hostility can vary in its intensity and many examples from Dublin such as this bench can be considered ‘mild’, this type of design approach still violates people’s dignity and at times their rights. It is often used as a quick fix to stop people from having to address the real underlying societal issues. We all see Hostile Design in our cities and it is not just the most vulnerable who feel its hostility. The elderly look for a bench to sit on and rest that is no longer there or those waiting for public transport leaning against a plastic bench that is not intended to let them wait comfortably.

This is just one of many examples of hostile design in Dublin so next time you are out for a walk in the city, take a look around as Dublin discreetly becomes more hostile. It is clearly not a solution to homelessness. Although it can be argued that in some cases hostile design can encourage or nudge homeless people to seek a more secure place to sleep, more often it displaces them to a less suitable space and stops people having to address real issue, while also reminding the homeless that they are not wanted or welcome.

Image Credits

Image 1: Sloped Bench - Google Maps (2019). Adshell with narrow red bench on Thomas Street, Dublin. Google Maps. Available at: https://goo.gl/maps/mjHQKS8oLADQTWb39 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2020].

Image 2: Arbitrary arm Rests - Savin, A. (2016). Smithfield Square Benches. Google Maps. Available at: https://goo.gl/maps/Gu94X6p9kXcjMdsu5 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2020].

Image 3: Removal of benches - Kevin Baker (2019). Another pierce of public seating removed in Dublin. Twitter. Available at:  https://twitter.com/__kbaker__/status/1123188590949871616?lang=en [Accessed 5 Apr. 2020].