The war on public space. Annotated Bibliography 7.

Andreou, Alex. “Anti-Homeless Spikes: ‘Sleeping Rough Opened My Eyes to the City’s Barbed Cruelty’.” The Guardian 18 Feb. 2015. The Guardian. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

Photograph: Guy Corbishley/Demotix/Corbi

This image depicts the spikes that are placed to prevent the homeless from sleeping or sitting in that spot. These spikes are commonly found in use around stores, parks and under bridges. The use of defensive architecture is present in many cities and even in Atlanta. However, their use has been placed under criticism by the public because it openly excludes and discriminates against the homeless. In addition to this, the use of defensive architecture, like these spikes, has been criticized as it can prevent people that may need a place to sit down and rest as well as limiting the city public life.

I chose this image as my source because it shows architectural exclusion in a very blunt manner. Usually, architectural exclusion goes unnoticed by the general public, however, this image clearly depicts the war that exists on public space. This image was published approximately a year ago, but the use of spikes is still present in most large cities and areas with heavy human traffic. This image is similar to my other annotated bibliography on “Poor doors” as both images are methods of defensive architecture and under heavy criticism from the public.