Hostile Architecture and Design Justice

Neighborhood Design Center Executive Director Jennifer Goold recently joined The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) for a webinar on hostile architecture, highlighting how Baltimore communities are organizing for more just, welcoming public spaces.

Why This Conversation Matters

The National Coalition for the Homeless has long worked to protect the civil and human rights of people experiencing homelessness.

In its 2023 report, Design Against Humanity: Examining Anti-Homeless Architecture, The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) documents how instead of investing in housing and care for unhoused neighbors, “hostile architecture” – from spiked window sills and segmented benches to boulders under bridges – pushes them out of public spaces.

For NDC, this is not an abstract design debate; it is a question of who feels welcome, safe, and seen in our neighborhoods.

During the NCH webinar, Goold brought NDC’s Baltimore-based experience into a national conversation about spatial justice and design.

She described hostile architecture as a design practice that privileges one user over another, deliberately withholding protection and comfort from people deemed “non-preferred” – often those who are unhoused, Black and Brown residents, elders, youth, and disabled community members.

Jennifer emphasized that these design choices rarely succeed in creating vibrant “preferred-user” spaces. Instead, they strip away comfort for everyone, leaving empty, surveilled environments that feel unsafe and inhospitable across the board.

Jennifer’s presentation drew on NDC’s on-the-ground work to show what a different design ethic can look like.

One example is the YNOT Lot in Baltimore’s Station North neighborhood, where NDC and Gehl Institute studied how an open, flexible event space can counter gentrification narratives by centering Black creative communities and low-income residents.

Data from the YNOT Lot shows that programming and welcoming infrastructure—rather than barriers—brought more women, Black residents, and lower-income neighbors into the space, strengthening recognition, social connection, and a sense of belonging. These findings stand in direct contrast to anti-homeless design strategies that fragment seating, add spikes, or remove shade to discourage lingering.

Similarly, NDC’s work in places like North Brentwood and the Bethel Street Playscape demonstrates how communities can transform historic barriers into monuments, flexible seating, and playscapes that invite gathering and care.

Light, Comfort, and Spatial Justice

Goold also referenced NDC’s learning from the Signal Station North lighting project, where staff and community partners examined how light can serve as either an instrument of care or a tool of control.

Common assumptions—like “brighter light equals safer space”—do not hold up when residents describe overly bright, harsh lighting as surveillance that heightens anxiety and deepens shadows just beyond the glare.

Through community mapping and listening, NDC found that softer “spill light” from businesses and homes and lighting that defines a welcoming sense of place often make people feel more comfortable than floodlights or mobile police towers.

This nuanced approach to lighting aligns with NCH’s call for inclusive design strategies that prioritize accessibility, dignity, and comfort for all users rather than criminalizing those who rely most on public space.

Shared Commitments and Next Steps

The NCH report calls for policy changes that move resources away from anti-homeless architecture and toward affordable housing, inclusive design, and community-driven solutions.

NDC’s practice on the ground echoes that call: supporting neighborhood partners to co-create spaces that center protection, comfort, programming, and local expertise, rather than deploying hostile elements as a stand‑in for safety.