How anti-homeless architecture in cities makes us all feel less welcome

While controversial anti-homeless architecture is on the rise, are we actually designing cities that are anti-human?

Image by Shengpengpeng Cai via Unsplash

What is the architecture that deters homeless people?

Well, this type of design goes by many names – hostile architecture, hostile design, and defensive design, to name a few. It’s even labelled “designs against humanity” by bemoreadaptive.org, a website campaigning for more inclusivity for vulnerable people.

Anti-homeless architecture aims to deter ‘undesirable’ individuals from spending extended amounts of time in public areas. It’s achieved by making benches purposefully uncomfortable to sit on, or by adding spikes and stones in areas where rough sleepers might usually rest.

What is the problem with hostile architecture?

Anti-homeless architecture is but one of many increasingly real issues facing rough sleepers in cities across the UK.

But what’s so bad about this kind of design? Doesn’t it make the public feel safer? Doesn’t it protect the general population by discouraging anti-social behaviour?

Well, not quite.

What it actually does is create hostile and unwelcoming spaces within cities. It pushes rough sleepers out of public spaces and into unsafe areas. And, it enforces the idea that no one is welcome to spend too much time on the streets. After all, where's the line between merely sitting and loitering?

Before we further explore the negative impacts of this type of design, let’s have a look at what might be considered anti-homeless architecture.

Hostile architecture examples

1) Slanted benches

Have you ever asked yourself the question: ‘Why are bus stop seats slanted?’. Commonly found at bus stops and train stations, slanted benches work by forcing anyone sitting on them to remain almost half standing. It is difficult to even sit without sliding for citizens waiting for transport, especially for the elderly, who make up a huge number of passengers.

Their uncomfortable design makes them not only a deterrent to anyone wishing to sit for long periods, but they’re also completely impossible to lie across without sliding off. This means a rough sleeper looking for a place to sleep is forced to look elsewhere — likely not under the cover of a bus stop shelter.

2) Armrests and dividers on benches

You might’ve noticed these types of anti-homeless benches if you’ve experienced a long delay at an airport and found that dividers between seats prevented you from lying down to get some rest.

That’s the aim. Physical barriers across benches make it impossible for anyone to lie across them, meaning rough sleepers are forced to sleep on floors instead of somewhere elevated and safe.

3) Floor bumps and spikes

Installed near doorways and under shelters where rough sleepers would usually rest, bumps and anti-homeless spikes make any surface impossible to rest on.

Spikes are particularly hostile, and not only appear threatening and aggressive to those sleeping rough, but also to the public. How can we feel safe in spaces where metal spikes are purposely installed as a campaign against our society’s vulnerable individuals?

4) Curved or unconventionally shaped seating

The infamous Camden Bench caused quite the stir in 2012, with its cold concrete surface and slanted angles. Designed intentionally to discourage anti-social behaviour, the anti-homeless bench was criticised extensively by the public.

Notably, Frank Swain described the bench as “a symbol of the freedom we’ve lost in our public spaces — a freedom to use the spaces as we wish.”

Other examples, including anti-homeless benches that curve around a tree or monument, are designed to be impossible to lie across without falling off.

5) Loud music and sounds

Playing loud music, animal noises such as birds chirping, and recordings of traffic sounds appear to be devastatingly common.

These bothersome recordings are played in tunnels where rough sleepers commonly spend the night, making it impossible for even the heaviest of sleepers to ignore.

Hostile architecture statistics

Almost unsurprisingly, there are few hostile architecture statistics, since the homeless are overwhelmingly underrepresented in official statistics.

However, a 2016 Crisis survey of over 450 people using homelessness services across England and Wales revealed:

• 60% reported an increase in defensive architecture (like spikes, curved or segregated benches, gated doorways) that made sitting or lying down impossible.

• 35% said they were unable to find a place to sleep or rest due to these measures.

• 20% experienced deliberate noise pollution (e.g., loud music, recorded bird song, traffic sounds), making sleep difficult or impossible.

• 63% saw a rise in wardens or security guards in public spaces, often moving people on at night; 21% actually had their makeshift sleeping places hosed down while still in use.

  
  

Directly linked with hostile architecture is increased exposure to cold temperatures and other harmful weather conditions. According to The Guardian, a study in April 2018 by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported at least 78 deaths among rough sleepers (on the streets or in temporary accommodation) during a single winter. That is an average of two deaths per week, highlighting a critical lack of national recording of these deaths.

In 2023, approximately 1,474 homeless people died in the UK. Of these, at least 155 individuals died while rough sleeping, which is the group most directly exposed to harsh weather conditions.

While we lack precise mortality statistics tied directly to hostile architecture, the weight of survey data, expert analysis, and lived experiences paints a clear picture: hostile urban design significantly undermines the wellbeing, safety, and, not to mention, dignity of homeless individuals.

Hiding the homeless

‘Out of sight, out of mind’ shouldn’t apply to real people who need real help.

The use of anti-social architecture not only refuses to tackle the urgent issue of people being forced to sleep rough, but actively attempts to hide it. It pushes rough sleepers even further outside the margins of society, and into areas where they’re at more risk of assault and more likely to slip under the radar.

Homeless people are often targeted out of view from cameras, which are mostly prevalent in build-up areas. Those forced to sleep in secluded areas can be at risk of great danger — and even worse, there won’t be any recorded evidence.

In February 2025, the BBC published an article called: ‘Surviving on the streets in sub-zero temperatures’. They reported that a homeless man named Rich had said how he’d spent the night sheltering behind a stack of supermarket trolleys because the CCTV cameras made him feel safer.

The cause and effect: designing hostile cities affects us all

When we begin to design with the aim of excluding or deterring certain individuals, we’re designing against humanity. We're treating human beings as pests or displeasing objects to be kept out of sight.

Are we not breeding hostility within our communities when we internalise the notion that this type of design is normal?

Children learn about values from the environment around them. Growing up surrounded by hostile architecture might implicitly teach them that some people (e.g., unhoused, teens, or those who ‘hang around’) don’t belong or should be pushed away.

This can create an erosion of empathy in societies over time. Our children can grow up desensitised to the struggles of marginalised people. This is a danger in itself, since growing up around these types of antisocial designs and notions can also encourage antisocial behaviour. It can even see new societies turning a blind eye to any witnessed abuse inflicted on vulnerable people. A 2025 report from the BBC relayed how a homeless individual had advised them that they were scared, and how they had recently been beaten up and urinated on.

If this heinous behaviour is already playing out today, in broad daylight, how much worse is it going to get in future generations to come?

We're creating a ripple effect that tears through our communities and essentially normalises spending time, money, and resources on pushing those in need out, as opposed to actually helping them.

It means we have failed as a society. And, as Alex Andreou writes in a 2015 article for the Guardian, “it makes life a little uglier for all of us.”

So, instead of purposefully designing cities to shut out those who are already struggling, we should be focusing on providing the support and resources to address issues of homelessness.

The homeless charity, Shelter Cymru, advises:

"The resources spent on designing, installing, and maintaining these barriers would be better spent on addressing the root causes of homelessness to prevent it from occurring in the first place; and ensuring that where it does occur, meaningful solutions are on offer."

Brushing people in need under the carpet is never the answer, and we as a society can't stand for it.

So, how can you help?

Getting involved can be as simple as drawing attention to and speaking up about these designs when you see them.

Here are a few ways you can flag instances of anti-homeless architecture within your community:

• Post pictures on social media to raise awareness – Hostiledesign.org encourages members of the public to post pictures to Instagram using the hashtag #HostileDesign, to be featured in their Design Crime Gallery. They also offer their Design Crime sticker sheet, which includes stickers that you can place on any piece of anti-homeless architecture you see.

• Sign online petitions – for example, there are currently petitions to remove anti-homeless architecture from Bristol and London. If you can’t find a petition for your particular city, you could even create your own.

• Email your local MP – if you’re not sure who this is, you can find out by entering your postcode on the UK Parliament website.

Warm and durable clothing can provide some protection when people are forced to sleep in uncomfortable or exposed places due to hostile architecture. Suitable clothing can help them withstand cold, damp, and rough conditions that would otherwise make rest nearly impossible. Some people may also be forced into open spaces during the hot weather seasons, due to the hostile designs. This means that light clothing and items like sun hats can be especially helpful when shaded areas are restricted.

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At Clothing Collective, we partner with local charities and charity shops to provide clothing vouchers for those most vulnerable living in the UK.

By donating today, you can help provide rough sleepers with the essential clothing they need to stay safe against the elements.

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