That particular example picture looks more like a protection against falling off the bench while sleeping than actually preventing it.
this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2026
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This is one of the worst examples of hostile architecture I've personally seen.
It'd be really easy to sleep on your side or back with your legs on the side or on top of that. Are you sure it was designed as hostile architecture and not just an art piece?
Honestly, I have no idea. It just seems really dumb to make a bench to fit multiple people then block off half of it with a glass ball? It was on a residential street iirc on the way to Boscombe beach.
It’s off to one side, use that as a pillow or foot rest.
That's just art.
The same incentive to dislodge the homeless is the same reason they put sub par cladding on Grenfell. To remove the unsightly poor through obfuscation. Don't want the well heeled getting pangs of conscience.
That's my issue with hostile architecture. I live in los Angeles. The homeless here are struggling and need material help, but to many they are deemed like animals that need to be chased away. I regularly hear people talk about the homeless as if they are an inconvenience instead of people suffering. The lack of empathy is mind boggling. I'm only one guy, what can my dumbass do though?
What about the ordinary residents of Notting Hill? Should they have to be reminded every day of the fire and death? Should they have to risk bits of debris falling off? Should a building with no windows be left exposed to the weather? Just so that the well-heeled have to suffer the same reminder as the poors, it sounds like?
The difference between hostile architecture and cladding Grenfell is that covering Grenfell serves practical purposes.
I’ll bet I could fit under that rail, and have a nice security strap to stop me from falling off at night too? Sign me up!
Why is it called rough sleeping in the UK?
To separate rough sleeping (sleeping outside) from homelessness (not having a home).
Someone who has no official address, but is sleeping on the floor in a friend's house temporarily is homeless but not rough sleeping.
Someone who has a home and address, but isn't able to go there for some reason (often escaping from domestic violence) may end up "sleeping rough" i.e. outside on a bench, in a tent or shop doorway.
Many other variations/examples obviously, and plenty of cases of both together.
Both situations need slightly different support.
In the US we usually call it unsheltered homelessness, as opposed to sheltered homelessness (living in an emergency shelter or program)
Fun fact: with some wrenches and/or an angle grinder, you can do this yourself, with no permission or authorization needed! Plus, you can even bring the metal scraps to a recycling yard and get paid for doing this public service!
Ah yes, turn the scrap in where you need to provide your ID to do so and they could easily track it back to you…
If your country accepts scrap without IDs they’re helping the criminal industry and complicit.
I don't know about your area, but where I am, scrap yards only require ID for non-ferrous metals. Iron and steel can be recycled without ID.
So, I guess, maybe skip the scrapyard if the metal parts don't stick to a magnet. Other than that, you're good.
It’s gonna be stainless steel, so non-ferrous, and they’ll still have you on video camera and have your license plate if you drove.
It’s an incredibly stupid idea since the material is basically trackable.
You mind as well just tell people to smack a cop with it.
You mind as well just tell people to smack a cop with it.
Well, I'm not against that idea...
That was one of the most odious tracking management UIs I have seen. Unless you want to accept everything, then you would have to invest quite a bit of effort in multiple tabs....
Screw that.