‘Hostile’ design hits homeless
Jason McCutcheon had been sleeping on the bench outside the Nelson Provincial Museum – but not any more.
The bench has been upgraded, with new armrests at 1-metre intervals – with no space for McCutcheon to lie down.
It is an unintended side-effect of improvement, according to museum bosses. But it is also an example of hostile architecture, an urban planning practice which discourages undesirable use of public space.
Hostile architecture ranges from metal studs on the edge of benches or walls to prevent skateboarders grinding on them, to installing leaners instead of benches at bus-stops to prevent people from sleeping or loitering there. Either by design or as an unintended consequence, these designs usually hit the homeless harder than others.
Nelson Provincial Museum chief executive Lucinda BlackleyJimson said the armrests on the bench – which is widely thought of as public but is actually the property of the museum – were added as part of maintenance and upgrades which had been planned for a while.
‘‘They’re part of the ways that we increase accessibility for our public, in terms of people being able to get up off the seat a lot easier if they have temporary or, say, age-related mobility issues.’’
Other planned works for the museum include ‘‘improvements to the roof garden, new retail shop fittings which we’ve just had installed, improvements to the air-conditioning, and activation of the kerbside space.’’
The impact on McCutcheon, whose belongings were confiscated by the Nelson City Council in October under the council’s amenity bylaw, was unrelated and not intended, Blackley-Jimson said. He has still been seen at the site, though not as frequently as previously.
Senior lecturer at the Auckland University school of architecture and planning Bill McKay said hostile design was becoming more common in public places.
‘‘You see it everywhere, even in airports where your flight might be delayed or cancelled and you have to lie down.
‘‘You do see more and more of this kind of social engineering stuff that I think is aimed at ... shifting people on and that sort of thing.’’ He said examples that were evident in Auckland included people installing sprinklers in doorways to stop people sleeping there. ‘‘I can understand the problems that shopkeepers have but public spaces are for all the public, and there’s a wider responsibility to look after and accommodate everyone ... I don’t like walking down the street and having beggars accosting me but they’re members of the public too, and they deserve design that accommodates them.’’
McKay said there were ways to design public spaces that accommodated mobility issues without putting others out.
‘‘Everyone at some stage has probably had to lie down in public.’’