HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE
HOW CITIES DISCRIMINATE
WHAT IS HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE?
"A city can be designed for you just as well as it can be designed against you"
- Amanda Lee Koe, writer
Has the physical design of a public space ever made you uncomfortable? Ever sat down on a bench, wanting to get a good rest, only to get up a few moments later because you keep sliding off, or its surface is too rough? Then you've been a victim of hostile architecture.
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Hostile architecture - also known as unpleasant design - refers to things in our environment built to control what we do - often without us even knowing it. Here are some examples from history/other countries:
ROBERT MOSES' BRIDGES
Robert Moses was one of the "master builders" of New York City - and also quite a bigot. According to former colleagues, he ordered bridges over the Southern State Parkway - leading to many of New York's idyllic beach towns - to be built low, preventing buses ferrying poor minorities from passing.
HOMELESS SPIKES
One of the most famous examples of hostile architecture is "homeless spikes", spikes installed purportedly for other purposes, but clearly intended to discourage homeless people from sleeping at a particular area. In one case, Selfridges, a UK departmental store, installed spikes outside its storefront in December 2014, which it claimed were meant to “reduce litter and smoking”. Following significant outcry (and even a change.org petition!) from members of the public who recognized the spikes for what they were, the store removed them.
COMFORTABLE...BUT NOT TOO COMFORTABLE
The more commonly encountered cases of hostile design are objects which are inviting and comfortable by nature - such as benches - but, for some reason, have also been modified to be less so. Many examples can be seen everywhere you look: benches with "armrests" too low for anyone's arms; benches which slope; the list goes on.
HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE?
It's there, if you pay attention...
CASE STUDY: LITTLE INDIA
In and around an area comprising not more than 3 HDB blocks, our team observed the following instances of hostile architecture. See if you may have spotted them before, and if you can guess what their purpose is...
Beyond just spikes and armrests targeted at the homeless, and fences which discourage foreign workers who tend to gather in the area from congregating around void decks, sometimes hostile design makes life harder even for the average citizen. In 2016 images of these void deck partitions, uploaded by Facebook user DJ Wills, sent netizens into a furore:
On the original post, many netizens lamented the emergence of such architecture, saying it was divisive and served only to erode the "kampung spirit" that a communal space such as a void deck ought to nurture. Others said that these public spaces had now been turned into "dead space", their potential squandered.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
IT'S INVISIBLE
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
Why is hostile architecture such a big deal?
IT'S NOT INCLUSIVE
Social cohesion is especially important for a small country like Singapore, and community spaces are crucial for this purpose. But how can these social spaces “foster social cohesion” if they specifically exclude certain people? Not only does HA interrupt social interaction; it entrenches social divisions by sending a clear message to marginalized groups: “you are not wanted here”. This creates fault lines in society which can erupt violently.
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More than that, it's simply morally wrong to make life harder for the citizens of a city.
IT JUSTIFIES DISCRIMINATION, IGNORING REAL ISSUES
A homeless spike, a fence in a void deck - all these send the implicit message that it's OK to treat certain people like pests. Because isn't that what we're doing, by pushing them out of sight instead of helping them help themselves? Eventually, society internalizes this attitude, and becomes just as unforgiving and unfeeling as the environment. Instead of targeting the root of social issues, the state gets to sweep its shortcomings under the rug.
IT'S UGLY
Hostile architecture doesn't just discriminate - sometimes, it's an eyesore as well. For a country like Singapore, with her reputation as a "garden city", we do ourselves a disservice to let such designs mar our landscape.
IT'S INVISIBLE
In this day and age, few democratic governments can explicitly persecute any group without incurring significant public or international backlash.
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However, hostile architecture is invisible, because it is melded into our environment, and given a guise of practicality. It allows cities to mark off certain groups as unwelcome, right under the noses of the rest of the populace.
But hopefully now, you know better. Arm rests on a long bench? Slanted benches? Spikes to "prevent littering"? All these seemingly innocuous structures have a more sinister side to them.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
PAY ATTENTION
Thus far, you should at least be aware that there are designs around us which may not be what they seem. Good - that's what we hoped for. We want to "call out" the authorities, bring attention to hostile architecture and make the populace more attuned to its presence.
CARE
Everywhere you go, be on the lookout; and when you spot something that may be hostile architecture, call it out. Platforms already exist for this: besides social media in general, websites like hostiledesign.org gather images from Instagram with the hashtag "#hostiledesign", showcasing instances of it spotted and posted by ordinary citizens like you and I.
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Hostile architecture makes us, well, more hostile. Make an effort to be more empathetic in response; see the city from the point of view of someone with less than yourself. Champion and contribute to social causes such as solving income inequality and the integration of migrants; these help to solve the root causes of social issues.