6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS PUBLIC PLACES FEBRUARY 10, 2023 Examining Ann Arbor's hostile and hospitality architecture SAARTHAK JOHRI MiC columnist If you’ve ever taken a long walk through Ann Arbor, you might note that for a relatively walkable city, benches are somewhat rare. They’re a bit more common at bus stops, but there’s usually something a bit odd about them. A bar is affixed — usually welded on so removal is impossible — to the bench, dividing it into sections. It’s often cylindrical, making it difficult to use as an armrest. Smaller benches are made impossible to sit in for plus-size individuals and the overall lack of benches makes it harder for those with chronic pain or fatigue to traverse the city on foot. So the question arises: Why are they built this way? This bench division is a long-standing practice of hostile architecture, which makes cities less hospitable for those mentioned above. But that very hostility is intended toward one of the most vulnerable populations — the unhoused. Bars that divvy up benches make it more difficult for unhoused people to use them to sleep. Hostile architecture to prevent the repose of the unhoused manifests itself in many other ways all over the world: several sharp stones placed inside structures, spikes on the ground under the pretense of modern art, benches that are fixed to tilt forward, the lack of access to public bathrooms, loud noise blaring through the speakers of local businesses — Ann Arbor being especially complicit in those last few. If you’ve ever taken a walk through downtown — especially in the winter — you might notice that many restaurants have built small huts, igloos and heated patios for diners to eat in. This hospitality architecture heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when restaurateurs had to figure out how to serve patrons under quarantine regulations in the cold of winter, even with the risk of fire to their building. Even after things warmed up and patrons began getting vaccinated, local businesses kept this practice, for the sheer novelty of the customer experience. And isn’t that just a little odd? These restaurants were able to acquire permits and quickly build small, heated housing in the streets of Ann Arbor for the purposes of the profits they brought in; to use the words of the Michigan General Defense Committee, it seems tents on the streets are fine as long as there aren’t any unhoused individuals in them. Now, let me be clear — this is not a condemnation of our local businesses doing whatever they can to survive — but our unhoused population is doing exactly that to a much more severe degree. What we should call into question is our city’s priorities and how we think about the architecture they form. Ann Arbor isn’t as extreme an offender in blatantly hostile structures as some other cities. What’s still striking about these choices is that so much thought is placed into making a city hostile to the unhoused rather than addressing its own housing issues. If you’ve taken a walk anywhere see HOSTILE page 11 Illustration by Maya Sheth, Michigan in Color Boober and public benches offer respite from weariness and weather First of all, I want to talk about public benches. They are very helpful to people with disabilities and elderly people. They are very much needed. I think they need to be on every street and by every business. I think they make the community look good. They are good for vendors who sell things. They are good for vendors who sell things who have disabilities and who are elderly. They are also good for anyone else who is just tired from being on their feet all day in rough weather. I hope they put more public benches in the community. I use public benches everywhere I DENISE SHEARER Groundcover vendor No. 485 go if they’re there. I use public benches for waiting for the bus or sitting in the park or just resting by a library. Everywhere that I go I would like to have a public bench or public chair because there’s people with disabilities, including me, whose feet don’t always do what I want them to do. I appreciate the public benches that are painted pretty colors and the benches that are dedicated to a loved one by someone who loved them. Boober pedicabs are very much needed and appreciated too. I think people who provide rides with Boober are offering a very needed service and I really admire them. They make me happy. Riding on Boober is very comforting. Riding on Boober is also a relief from trying to walk on ice and snow. Riding on Boober is a relief when your legs and feet are tired. Boober is not only a needed service in winter weather but in hot, summer weather, too. I think it’s a relaxing ride with or without the driver playing music. I have taken Boober for a short ride and a long ride — you can do both with Boober! Riding on Boober is very comfortable and relaxing. Boober gives a kind of service that makes me feel there are still people in the world who care.
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