Public perception and stereotypes

Though the increase in hostile architecture may be linked to the rise in crime rates, hostile architecture as we know it today does not always seem to focus on those breaking the law. This is arguably evidenced in figures 10 and 11, where crime rates are decreasing in New York City despite a rise in homelessness. Bader (2020, p. 48) ponders the question of “who decided that skateboarding is not allowed” where he argues that hostile architecture is being used for alternative, underlying reasons. Perhaps it is the stereotype of the ‘undesirables’ which causes the hostile architecture against them, as opposed to their actual dayto-day behaviours. Whyte (2012, p. 19) supports this idea when he suggests, “out of an almost obsessive fear of their presence, civic leaders worry that if a place is made attractive to people it will be attractive to undesirable people. So it is made defensive … So it is that benches are made too short to sleep on, that spikes are put on ledges, that many needed spaces are not provided”. This is arguably evidenced by Stringer (2017) who identifies that 182 of the 333 privately owned public spaces audited in New York City “failed to provide required public amenities”.

Savic and Savicic (2012) suggest it is the negative stereotypes which influence the use of hostile architecture, and those with power can code a space to communicate these stereotypical views. They identify hostile architecture as a ‘silent agent’, and highlight how stereotypes of the ‘undesirables’ have been “materialised into objects and installations, which ensure that control is implemented in the environment” (Savic and Savicic, 2012, p. 9). However, some landowners recognise that not all stereotypes are true. They try to embrace these ‘undesirable’ groups, by providing busking areas or spaces for street sellers. But, conflicting ideas on their worth to the space, alongside the stereotypes which are ingrained within our society, often means that these people are still only allowed within a space for a specified amount of time and are restricted to a specific location (figure 12).