Stuart Semple launches campaign against hostile design targeting homeless populations

British artist Stuart Semple is initiating an international effort to eliminate hostile design, also known as defensive architecture. The campaign originated when Semple observed retrofitted bars installed on benches in Bournemouth, his hometown, which prevent homeless individuals from sleeping there. After sharing an image of one such bench on Facebook, he received numerous comments criticizing the council's approach as inhumane and disgraceful. Semple describes hostile design as a covert method of policing public spaces that reinforces negative perceptions of homeless people as adversaries rather than individuals needing support for issues like addiction or mental health. A dedicated website for the campaign launches later this week, inviting submissions of photographs documenting defensive designs. Semple intends for this platform to become an archive that names and shames the organizations funding and installing these features, with the goal of challenging prejudicial attitudes. The Art Newspaper reported on this initiative, which follows architect Joshua Comaroff's analysis of the growing prevalence of defensive architecture.