Other countries' approach to urban architecture is often anti-homeless.
Sitting by the river in downtown Skellefteå recently, I found myself stretched out on broad stone-and-grass steps so generous you could lie on them.
It was one of those gorgeous summer days filled with sunshine.
Around me, people picnicked under the shade of trees or out in the sun; it wasn’t far-fetched to think it was a perfect time and place for a nap. At Stadshuset (City Hall), they even offer picnic blankets you can borrow - a sign of municipal generosity inviting residents to make themselves at home on shared ground.
That simple invitation stands in stark contrast to how urban America often treats its public spaces. I couldn’t help but compare.
Here’s a city that says, "Stay awhile." There, public spaces are often built to say, "Move along."
U.S. parks and plazas are increasingly hostile - not through closed gates, but through stealthy design. Benches divided with metal bars make lying down impossible. Spikes and studs on otherwise empty cement ledges deter resting. While this hostile architecture targets those without private places, it also sends a message to tourists and residents: "You are not welcome here."
This isn’t an abstract comparison; it’s a chilling look at the values ingrained in our two societies. The Scandinavian ideal is to craft public life with inclusion and trust, investing in caring civil design that helps build community.
Why are so many American cities intent on erasing homeless people from sight but not addressing the underlying causes of homelessness? Would compassion and help truly cost more than the measures they implement to criminalise and discomfort those without homes?
When cities use these extreme measures, they don’t just affect the homeless; they also send a message to the rest of us.
This militarisation of space goes hand in hand with a broader competitive ethos in the states - one that sees life as a zero-sum struggle.
Public resources don’t create comfort; they erect barriers. Trusting each other in a public space is not allowed, especially if those spaces include businesses where we should be spending money and then moving along.
And if you don’t have the money to spend? Then you have no business being there.
I recently saw body-cam footage from an Edgewater, Florida police officer who arrested a man sitting on a bench outside a CVS pharmacy. It was after hours, and the man was waiting for a ride after working a shift at CVS. But simply sitting on a bench outside a closed business apparently made him look suspicious.
His mere presence on the bench warranted a threat of being tasered, followed by arrest.
To me, “hostile architecture” is a symptom of a larger malaise in American society - one that prioritises orderliness over empathy and control over collective good.
These design choices echo recent political unrest. When public squares are crafted not to host collective gatherings, but to prevent them; not to welcome the weary, but to drive them off - democracy is corralled, not cultivated.