Unpleasant Design Podcast Notes
Strategies to deter certain behaviors or crowds in public spaces
Largely targets young or homeless
Classical music in front of stores to deter youth
Pink - emphasizes blemishes, but there is not a lot of evidence of it working
Blue - usually in bathrooms, makes it harder to see veins and discourages heroin use
Bridge in Bosnia - lights continuously put up and destroyed; placed to discourage criminal activity
Currently used to make people feel safe
Spikes in floors or alcoves
Attempt to stop people from sitting or lying in specific places, particularly homeless people
Caused social issues - spikes are too aggressive even if homeless people are viewed as inconvenient
You can’t argue with them/permanent - unpleasant
Force people to be uncomfortable, not allow them to lie down or interact - armrests to limit use, higher benches, Camden benches (the perfect anti-bench)
Some don’t even have seats, instead they have leaning supports to discourage sitting or lying down
Anti-pigeon measures - spikes or nets
Work well in area they’re placed in but cause a concentration of pigeons in the small areas without these measures - makes those more unpleasant
Designs are problematic when they exclude people
i.e. hard, physical barriers/exclusionary measures/hostile measures (spikes)
Unpleasant design is supposed to make things pleasant for the average person, but by focusing on the unpleasant, it can also deter some pleasant factors