‘Defensive architecture’ is a cynical attempt to sweep absent poverty and inequality. Better Than Spikes want to make our urban spaces more inclusiveThe city – yours,ours, everybody’s – is filled with space, and yet most people don’t stop to think just how much of that space is designed to control them. Some of it,like traffic lights, one-way signs and most road signs, or serves a positive purpose. Lighting directs people to main streets and places where you can buy things. Steel barriers maintain you from running onto the main road and control routes of traffic. Not saying that’s a obnoxious thing,that’s just how it is.
Outdoor furniture determines whether you are invited to rest anywhere, and how you rest. Angled perches at bus stops discourage hanging out there too long. Metal spikes on ledges and doorways scream “accomplish not sit”, or “accomplish not stand”,“go absent”.
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Source: theguardian.com