BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

'Design crimes': How a bench launched a homelessness debate

  • Published
    14 May 2018
Share page
About sharing
Media caption,

Professor Green removes Bournemouth's 'anti-homeless' bench bars in January

ByChris Bell
BBC UGC & Social News

A picture of a rainbow-coloured bench has launched a debate about homelessness, exclusion and hostile design on social media.

On Saturday, Twitter user Isaac Azuelos posted an image of a bench in his home town of Calgary, Canada.

The bench featured metal bars which prevent homeless people from sleeping there.

Mr Azuelos' tweet was widely shared and other users posted their own examples, some using the hashtag #HostileDesign.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by Isaac Azuelos

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by Isaac Azuelos

You might also like:

  • Inside the dark world of 'incels'

  • Champions League: Ukrainians offer fans free accommodation

  • Chinese broadcaster censors LGBT symbols at Eurovision

Some saw the design as evidence of the marginalisation and exclusion of homeless people from public spaces.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by ThisMicah

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by ThisMicah

"These are designed specifically to prevent tired people from laying down on them," wrote Twitter user @ThisMicah.

"It's a feature, not a bug," the tweet continued.

"I think the problem is that society tells them they're a problem and shuns them from public spaces," wrote another.

"But that doesn't solve the issue, [it] just pushes it out of sight. Maybe by treating homeless people like humans they can actually progress rather than be a 'problem'."

But others questioned why people should be allowed to sleep on public benches.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by Lainey B

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by Lainey B

And some pointed out that bars can provide support and assistance to the elderly or less physically able.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 4 by charly

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 4 by charly

"Ever thought about old people who need something to hold onto to get up and down?" asked one.

"Pretty sure it's rather for them than against homeless people sleeping there."

The debate has captured the interest of many. Mr Azuelos' original tweet has generated significant discussion online and tens of thousands of likes and retweets.

On Sunday, he posted a screenshot of a conversation, external he had with the organisation which runs the site where the bench was installed, Springboard Performance.

"The bench was actually a donation to our non-profit by city workers, specifically for an elderly patron who walks by every day" a spokesperson said.

"The intent was not to institute or uphold the principles of hostile or exclusionary design."

This Facebook post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Facebook
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Facebook content may contain adverts.
Skip facebook post by Stuart Semple

Allow Facebook content?

This article contains content provided by Facebook. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Facebook cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Facebook content may contain adverts.
End of facebook post by Stuart Semple

British artist Stuart Semple has previously used social media to shine a spotlight on examples of hostile design.

In February, he set up a website to document what he describes as "designs against humanity" after seeing benches fitted with "anti-homeless" bars in Bournemouth, Dorset. He posted an image of one of the benches to Facebook in January which, he claims, was viewed more than a million times inside 24 hours.

Bournemouth council officials later announced that all bars would be removed following protests.

This Facebook post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Facebook
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Facebook content may contain adverts.
Skip facebook post 2 by Stuart Semple

Allow Facebook content?

This article contains content provided by Facebook. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Facebook cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Facebook content may contain adverts.
End of facebook post 2 by Stuart Semple

Social media users contribute to Mr Semple's campaign by tagging pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #HostileDesign. Pictures featured in the website's gallery include examples from Milan, New York and Toronto.

This Instagram post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Instagram
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip instagram post by sydneymluken

Allow Instagram content?

This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of instagram post by sydneymluken

More on this story

  • 'Anti-homeless' bars to be removed

    • Published
      5 February 2018
    Campaigners on bench

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Trump says first phase of Gaza peace deal agreed, paving way for hostage and prisoner releases

    • 5486 viewing5.5k viewing
  • 'Half my mind is still in Gaza': Evacuated teacher begins studies in UK

    • Published
      4 hours ago
  • America's top banker sounds warning on US stock market fall

    • Published
      4 hours ago

More to explore

  • 'Half my mind is still in Gaza': Evacuated teacher begins studies in UK

    Sana el-Azab is sitting on a wall circling Durham Cathedral. She is smiling and is doing a peace sign with her hands.
  • 'I'll axe stamp duty' and 'My Maddie hoax agony'

    Newspaper headlines: Tories vow to scrap stamp duty and Madeline McCann's parents give testimony in alleged stalking case
  • 'I cried every day': Victoria Beckham tells of fashion woes in new Netflix doc

    Victoria Beckham in a green dress
  • Stars, secrets and slip-ups: Celebrity Traitors is off to a cracking start

    Alan Carr and Claudia Winkleman on the Celebrity Traitors
  • How Britain's membership of the ECHR became a political hot potato

    Montage image showing Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer
  • The battle for Scotland's flag: Why the right has adopted the saltire

    A man raises his fist while standing in front of a group of people waving flags, including saltires and a union flag.
  • Have Russians set up a military base in my childhood home?

    Satellite image shows evidence of Russians using a BBC reporter's childhood home in southern Zaporizhzhia oblast
  • Badenoch hopes to grab attention with policy blitz

    Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch waves at supporters as she arrives at the annual Conservative Party Conference on October 4, 2025 in Manchester, England.
  • The Upbeat newsletter: Start your week on a high with uplifting stories delivered to your inbox

    A graphic of a wave in the colours of yellow, amber and orange against a pink sky
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    America's top banker sounds warning on US stock market fall

  2. 2

    Have Russians set up a military base in my childhood home?

  3. 3

    'I'll axe stamp duty' and 'My Maddie hoax agony'

  4. 4

    ChatGPT image snares suspect in deadly Pacific Palisades fire

  5. 5

    Stars, secrets and slip-ups: Celebrity Traitors is off to a cracking start

  6. 6

    'Half my mind is still in Gaza': Evacuated teacher begins studies in UK

  7. 7

    'I cried every day': Victoria Beckham tells of fashion woes in new Netflix doc

  8. 8

    How Britain's membership of the ECHR became a political hot potato

  9. 9

    McCann stalker contacted Maddie's sister, court told

  10. 10

    The battle for Scotland's flag: Why the right has adopted the saltire

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Rom-com starring Aimee Lou Wood and Nabhaan Rizwan

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Film Club has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Film Club
  • Exposing a pro-Russian fake news operation

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Global Eye has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Global Eye: Inside a Pro-Russian Fake News Operation
  • Leonardo DiCaprio discusses his new film

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Movies With Ali Plumb has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Movies With Ali Plumb: Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
  • The rise and downfall of Margaret Thatcher

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Thatcher: A Very British Revolution has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Thatcher: A Very British Revolution
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.