hostile architecture

American  

[hos-tl ahr-ki-tek-cher, hos-tahyl] / ˈhɒs tl ˈɑr kɪˌtɛk tʃər, ˈhɒs taɪl /

noun

1. design elements of public buildings and spaces that are intended to stop unwanted behavior such as loitering or sleeping in public by making such behavior difficult and uncomfortable.

   The new park was filled with hostile architecture such as spikes on flat surfaces and hard, narrow benches.

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Etymology

Origin of hostile architecture

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

“It feels a little like an example of hostile architecture in the name of ‘public safety’ that seems to be happening everywhere,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

In “City of Quartz,” historian Mike Davis identified fences as part of an effort to police social boundaries with hostile architecture.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2024

But outside the Antwerp hospital — where, as it happened, many of the rooftop spikes had gone missing — the magpies had managed to convert hostile architecture into a home.

From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2023

Goodman is well within his rights to put up hostile architecture to try and fend off sea lions.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 26, 2022

For years, cities deployed hostile architecture to discourage this kind of loitering.

From Slate • Aug. 30, 2017