The Ethical Dilemma of Hostile Architecture in Public Spaces

Hostile architecture, defined as the intentional design of public and private spaces to discourage certain behaviors or the presence of certain groups of people through the deliberate implementation of urban design elements intended to deter specific behaviors, has become an increasingly present feature in contemporary public space. Banks with separators, large planters, tips on ledges, decorative rocks, concrete spheres on certain accesses, irr…