When in Fort Worth, I had a friend who became completely dehydrated when leaving to return to Dallas. Dehydration was expected because we were in Texas in August, but it was completely unexpected that there would be no way to purchase electrolytes on a Friday night at the train station, which was closed. My friend was extremely uncomfortable and was forced to lie on the ground because there were no full benches. If not for an anonymous and generous bus driver offering electrolytes, my friend would have passed completely beyond my capacity to help. At this time, I realized that hostile architecture is the same as denying climate change.
First, the reason this entire genre of architecture exists is because ignorance is funded. No one with functioning critical thinking skills truly believes that anyone wants to have nowhere but an outdoor bench to sleep. However, cities have gleefully decided that they should prevent people from sleeping while building luxury housing by the miles. Therefore, the unhoused population is steadily rising while malicious tech bros destroy the majority of living wage jobs.
Secondly, with rising temperatures, people’s bodies will exert much more effort in general movement. Walking for a mile is doable for many able-bodied individuals. Unfortunately, walking a mile without shade in hilly areas can put someone in mortal danger. Moreover, car culture often means walking a dangerous mile without shade on the side of the road. A bench would make that mile slightly more palatable, while a divided bench might add insult to injury. Resting is a normal human function, and collapsing due to heat exhaustion is coming faster than people know.
Finally, it is time to kill the assumption that everyone everywhere has access to untapped resources. Sometimes, if someone is close to medical danger, the only thing they can do for themselves is rest. Filling countless transit stations full of places where no one can rest is arrogantly assuming that people are only taking transit until they can afford cars. Being offered a tight seat without the capacity to relax sends a message of condescension and contempt from every municipal government to its constituents.
Climate change, global warming, the urban heat index, and unpredictable weather patterns are here to stay. It is emotionally immature to believe that building luxury housing lowers the cost of living or that electric vehicles will sustain the suburbs. Public spaces need to offer a modicum of rest and comfort to someone other than a pure consumer.
**Original image found here.
Chasing A Dying Empire 