SF residents buy boulders, place them on sidewalk to thwart homeless tents

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/SF-residents-buy-boulders-place-them-on-sidewalk-14464233.php

by spking • 7 years ago

18 9 7 years ago

Jesus Christ. DIY hostile city design.

It sounds cruel -- but I suspect those of us who have to live with used syringes and human feces within a block of where we live can empathize.

Craighead• 7 years ago

Participate in local government for needle swap programs and safe facilities then.

ST is weirdly mega feudal

wahern2• 7 years ago

https://www.sfaf.org/services/syringe-access-disposal/

captainredbeard• 7 years ago

Maybe the people acting dangerously are responsible for their actions?

linusnext• 7 years ago

Been here ten years, and cycling to work is a nightmare. Between every shop owner spraying down the sidewalk with a chemical bath into the street. Then pigeons bathe in it and take flight when you pass. Ensuring you get wet. There are public restrooms everywhere. It's just nonsense to have to deal with. Almost all the banks have studded areas outside to prevent camping. It's been referred to as "celebration of bum culture."

RenRav• 7 years ago

Lady in the vid calls it anti-homeless architecture , but I always understood it just as hostile architecture - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_architecture

wahern2• 7 years ago

Interesting that sloped window sills are considered hostile. They're important for preventing rot and water damage, regardless of size and type of building, but in modern construction too expensive. There was a good article from an historical architect I read some years ago lamenting how architects no longer consider small details like that anymore, even for projects where such expense wouldn't be an obstacle.

I was visiting and walking through a Boston neighborhood earlier this year and noticed a very old brownstone (or whatever the Boston equivalent is) that had recently been remodeled on the ground floor. There were two windows, one original and one newly built. The original had a sloped window sill of 4-5 inches but the new sill, the same width, was level. Even with aluminum window casings I imagine the new window will eventually begin to leak sooner or later.

Arnt• 7 years ago

How cities differ.

Where I live, boulders are also fashionable this year, but their goal is clearly to block the way for cars. Nicely located so the pavement or lawn is free, but a 2m wide car can't drive onto it from the street.

Who's the Evil Other.

SF residents buy boulders, place them on sidewalk to thwart homeless tents

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