Recent controversy has surrounded the globally tweeted image of #AntiHomelessSpikes in London. If you’ve not seen them here is a link to just one article on the images from the person behind taking them.
The spikes, which are about 3cm’s tall, with a slightly dulled top point were installed outside flats to deter rough sleepers. They are not the first of their kind to appear in London, and sadly may not be the last. Another article published on The BBC’s website shows a video with the reaction of local resident’s.
These spikes, or perhaps they can be more fairly described as studs, have raised an interesting debate. I think one of the key factors against the installation of similar Anti-Homeless deterrents is the knock on psychological stance of who the homeless are to us. These studs have been likened to Pigeon deterrents, suggesting that the homeless of our cities are no more important than the city vermin who damage and defecate on our buildings. A view which completely dehumanises those who have become homeless in our country.
We do not know everyone’s story, and we can’t presume to. It is responsible to recognise the potential danger homeless people pose to themselves, and to others. However, not all those who are homeless are automatically violent, or abusing substances. I find it hard sometimes to know how to respond to those begging on our streets – I want to be able to help, and I never want to ignore them. However I don’t always feel physically able to give money, so I try to talk to people and find out about them, or buy them food. Unfortunately I sometimes get bogged down by the relentless asking for funds, and the feeling that I can’t start conversations without it resulting in feeling guilty every time I don’t stop. I think this is partly why it can feel easier if we just ignore, speed up as we walk pass, or whip out our phone, have our hands holding bags, just to avoid stopping.
Just because homelessness is unpleasant, messy, and upsetting does not mean it should be ignored. It is upsetting, or at least for me, because I am witnessing another human, another member of our society who is desperate and destitute. Who, for whatever reasons, have ended up on the streets, struggling, and striving for their existence.
These #AntiHomelessSpikes do recognise homelessness but their response does nothing to solve the problem. It simply says; not here please, move on, not on my doorstep. It says ‘out of sight out of mind’, I’ll continue to walk past, ignore, grab my phone. I don’t think this can be the right response.
When I was travelling a few years ago one of the most striking things to me was the presence of the homeless, beggars, and desperate street vendors across Europe. I first arrived in Paris and, a stones throw from major tourist sites, couldn’t believe the amount of (mainly) men sleeping rough along the Seine. One of the greatest things I saw though was on the Italian border. We’d just got to the end of the line and off a train from Venice at about 2 in the morning. We knew it was going to be the middle of the night and were getting a bus in the morning so had planned to just sleep in the station. I was a little nervous but it was going to be fine. What was great about it was there were probably about twenty of us sleeping there. A group of travellers, and a few of us who were on our own or in a pair, but also a lot of (I presume) the homeless of the town. The station had unlocked toilets, shelter, and security. When security did a walk through I was a little nervous they’d tell us all to move on, but they just checked nothing was untoward and moved on. At 6am we were all told to get up and move on. It was a definite instruction, but the way I see it they’d allowed us (I mean this especially in regards to their response to the homeless) to stay. They’d been human and said, this is an empty station, we can leave it unlocked and let people use the toilets and shelter because they might not have somewhere else to go.
I often think about that station and wonder if they are still sensible and compassionate enough to just leave the doors unlocked, or whether the bureaucracy of it being an owned space has got in the way. Why are we a country, and world, so adamant that what is mine can never be shared with others. Is this our approach to buildings, even public buildings sometimes have a caveat. It’s public to certain people or at certain times, with everyone else being looked at questionably because ‘they don’t belong’. If a space is free and vacant is it not better to give it use and purpose all the time.
Yes I understand that the resident’s of that apartment block in Southwark don’t want to walk past the destitute each morning, and it ruins their posh front step. However, surely an uncaring image of humanity ruins it more. It is at least honest I suppose – publically demonstrating a stand against ‘those’ people. We are more responsible, human, and compassionate when we try to walk alongside someone in their struggles. If we were to actively design buildings which considered homelessness, and total access what would that do to our cities?
I do not propose to have all of the answers here, but I want to investigate. What if we actively said all public transport facilities could be used by the homeless between 12-6am. What if efforts into homeless shelters were partially diverted to manage their use. So that anti-social behaviour, and abuse, was prevented, or at least minimised. What if communities were not completed gated to enforce the idea of us versus them (even at a subconscious level). Alongside that, through our designing of spaces there must be other ways to engineer space. Are there other ways in which we can provide security without creating complete exclusion? If resident’s won’t want people by their front doors should we design them in ways that prevent the option.
There are so many questions and tangents which bounce off one another. So consequently there are so many solutions and avenues to follow. The response to homelessness in our communities at both an urban, and personal, level is something I hope to explore more fully throughout my life. Hopefully I will be able to participate on projects and contribute to ideas. So that on a personal level I can not only contribute but also develop what my responses are and what I am able to do.