Urban planners come up with a number of ideas to help the homeless keep their time in public places as short as possible. There is a technical term for this: defensive architecture. The jury of the non-word of the year 2022 called the architectural style “inhuman” because it aims to force marginalized groups out of the city.
Inexpensive, clean, uncomfortable: This bench does not invite you to linger.
picture-alliance / Reportdienste
Norbert Schmidt
Everything is so uncomfortable here
You may have noticed it at train stations, airports or in public places: Seating in urban spaces is becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
Instead of staying on benches, you should squat on a bar or lean against a sloping seat. In the waiting lounge, the rows of seats are staggered: you can no longer stretch out your legs here. You won’t stay long anyway, because the annoying background music is barely perceptible.
Drive the homeless out of the city
Some cities come up with ideas to make your stay in public places as short as possible. There is a technical term for this: defensive architecture.
Behind this is an architectural style that aims to make the stay in these places as uncomfortable as possible for homeless people.
The jury of the “Unword of the Year” describes this construction as “inhuman” because it specifically wants to ban marginalized groups from public space. Because the term obscures this intention, the jury names it one of the three non-words of the year 2022.
Anchored in the Stuttgart cityscape
Example Stuttgart: Daniel Kanus from the local street newspaper “Trott-Wars” leads through the city in an Insta-Reel from SWR Aktuell.
Ugly concrete blocks prevent access to dry and wind-protected areas. There are hardly any benches left in the subway stations and central squares. They have replaced uncomfortable seating squares made of metal bars. You can’t rest for long here.
More and more people are talking about so-called defensive architecture in cities. Also in Stuttgart. Lingering is not provided. Is there now movement in the debate and cosiness in the cities?
Unbearable for the homeless
A wooden bench with a continuous seat and backrest provides warmth. On the other hand, one cannot rest on a stool. In addition, the luggage has to be left on the ground and gets wet and dirty.
Concrete blocks instead of benches: That may be practical, cheap and space-saving for urban planning. However, homeless people living on the streets depend on places to stay that are safe.
Hamburg rapper Disarstar defends himself
The city of Hamburg also has subtle ideas to make the stay in the city as uncomfortable as possible for the homeless: spikes and concrete blocks are embedded in potential seating areas. Disposable rubbish bins are driving deposit collectors out of the city centre.
Rapper Disarstar can’t put up with it any longer. In a YouTube video, he describes the metal brackets on a bench as a harassment against the homeless – and then unceremoniously flexes them away:
