hostile architecture

[ hos-tl ahr-ki-tek-cher, hos-tahyl ]

noun

1. design elements of public buildings and spaces that are intended to stop unwanted behavior such as loitering or sleeping in public by making such behavior difficult and uncomfortable:

   The new park was filled with hostile architecture such as spikes on flat surfaces and hard, narrow benches.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hostile architecture¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

In “City of Quartz,” historian Mike Davis identified fences as part of an effort to police social boundaries with hostile architecture.

From Los Angeles Times

But outside the Antwerp hospital — where, as it happened, many of the rooftop spikes had gone missing — the magpies had managed to convert hostile architecture into a home.

From New York Times

Violence towards this community is not just about social stigma, hostile architecture, and public sanitation.

From Salon

In some cases, public facilities will design hostile architecture that deters people from sleeping or congregating in certain areas, like placing unnecessary bike racks beneath a highway overpass.

From Seattle Times

Goodman is well within his rights to put up hostile architecture to try and fend off sea lions.

From Seattle Times