Homelessness is an uncomfortable reality of our society. In San Francisco, things have come to a head with an unconventional design choice. As we’ll see, it’s totally hostile to homeless people.
The homeless generally live in urban areas.
Cities, particularly downtown areas, tend to be places where social services are concentrated, where it’s relatively easy to get around, and there’s already a community of people who are down on their luck.
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If you live in a big city, you know.
It’s often uncomfortable, because empathy for the plight of a homeless person can run counter to the fear of a homeless person who’s not in the right frame of mind.
There are all kinds of ways to deal with the problem.
When a city doesn’t want homeless people congregating or sleeping in a particular area, they often do something like this: add a feature to the design that makes it uncomfortable to be there.
It’s the reason so many benches are weird.
The “classic” park bench is comfortable to lie down on, so many new benches, especially in downtown areas and bus shelters, have designs that discourage people from lying down on them.
There’s a lot of homelessness in San Francisco.
It’s impossible to know the true number, but it’s estimated that about 7,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area don’t have a home to go back to at night.
Things have come to a head here.
In the Clinton Park neighborhood, residents have taken a fairly drastic step, paying out of pocket for something that they hope will keep the homeless population away for good.
They’ve brought in these massive boulders.
A Clinton Park resident told reporters that neighbors “chipped in a few hundred dollars” for the boulders. They’re hoping that the giant rocks will stop people from doing drugs and spending the night in the area.
Residents took matters into their own hands.
This kind of hostile design is often utilized by cities, including San Francisco itself. But in this case, the perceived problem was significant enough to prompt people in the area to fund the fix themselves.
It’s harsh.
While no one wants to see a junkie shooting up in front of their house, it’s tough not to have at least some degree of empathy for someone who’s down on their luck.
Apparently it’s working.
Because sidewalks now appear to be narrow throughways rather than pleasant walkways, residents of Clinton Park say that their solution has been rock solid so far, reducing the number of homeless people in the neighborhood.
Is there a more humane option?
Although the boulders weren’t put in place by the city, it appears the city is going to let them stay there. This is in line with recent San Francisco policies that have cracked down on homeless encampments.
What do you think?
It seems that these boulders will stay, and the homeless population of Clinton Park will need to find somewhere else to settle down for the night.
Let us know what you think of this saga, and share your own stories about homelessness, in the comments section!
