2025/03/25 by Brendan McCreath · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Homelessness and Social Issues #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Urban and Rural Development Challenges
paper · doi:10.1080/23748834.2025.2479206
openalex publication_date 2025/03/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
‘Hostile architecture’ is a term used to describe objects in public that discourage the presence of a particular group, often the homeless population. Examples include benches with middle armrests to prevent individuals from lying to sleep and trash cans with locks to prevent garbage picking. These designs exist within a larger web of anti-homeless laws and regulations. Previous scholarship on hostile architecture has not explored its potential impact on homeless health. The homeless population is one that faces several health disparities and increased mortality compared to the general population. This article presents brief reviews of hostile architecture and homeless health. Synthesizing from prior knowledge, a conceptual argument is made that hostile architecture likely negatively impacts the health of the homeless population if such a relationship exists. This impact could be from the relocation that individuals undergo to avoid hostile architecture or from the risks associated with the new spaces they occupy instead. A multidisciplinary approach is recommended so that research deficits can be addressed, and the plight of the homeless community be improved.