Architectural Discrimination?

by Shannon Moriarty · 2008-10-12 11:15:00 UTC
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I've always been a bit put off by these "sit only" park benches. You've probably seen them: they have three or four extra railings cutting right through the center of the bench to prevent people from laying down. As far as I can tell, they're meant to keep city parks and public areas cleared of people wanting to lie down or get otherwise horizontal (like, say, homeless people).  

While there are certainly much crueler tactics being used to criminalize the homeless in the U.S., these benches have always bothered me. Not only are they unwelcoming, but they also force homeless people to find other, less public, places to stay during the day. It seems like an architectural tactic used to superficially mask the issue of homelessness in a city.

And besides, aren't we all human? Shouldn't we all have the right to use public spaces? 

Luckily, Joel John Roberts, executive director of Path Partners in LA and fellow homelessness blogger, put a positive spin on the bench debacle. His conclusion?  That by discouraging people from sleeping on the streets, vulnerable people are encouraged to seek shelter and aid elsewhere.

Point taken. 

(Sidenote: a quick google on this topic found a few other interesting solutions out there. Here's my favorite...)

Changemakers: What do you think? Do these benches encourage homeless people to seek shelter and services? Or were they designed to help clean up the image of our urban areas, keeping them free of homeless people living in public spaces? 

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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