Anti-homeless barriers in Prague raise questions about 'hostile architecture'

Newly installed wooden barricades at Prague’s náměstí Republiky to stop homeless people from loitering around the Christmas market were met with strong criticism last week. Prague authorities ruled them illegal and ordered their removal, sparking debate on the justness of “hostile architecture” against the homeless in the capital. 

Taiko, the company organizing the annual Christmas market, installed the fence-type structures next to the náměstí Republiky metro station in a bid to fend away the homeless.

“Quite often, homeless people sit there and make a mess,” Taiko spokesperson Hana Tietze told Refresher.cz, adding that the barricades were installed to prevent disorder, and because the homeless “annoy the visitors of the market.”

The legality of such fences is questionable. Head of the Social Prevention Department of Prague 1 Pavel Pěnkavy said that the capital issues no permits for anti-homeless roadblocks, as it is illegal to install them. 

"No one has the right to restrict anyone in a public place” if they are simply sitting there without causing disruption, Pěnkavy said.

Shortly after the establishment of the barricades, authorities from the Prague 1 district instructed the operator of the market to remove the installation.

The debacle surrounding the blocks at náměstí Republiky has opened a debate about so-called hostile architecture that targets the homeless in Prague. 

Co-founder of Architects Without Borders Karolina Kripnerová, who aims to spread awareness about architecturally ‘hostile’ public spaces, says that the number of such anti-homeless installations is increasing.

“I've been noticing the transformation of benches more recently, and daggers [bayonets or spikes] seem to be a current trend," she told Refresher.cz. 

According to Kripnerová, Prague’s municipal districts are responsible for any amendments to, or removals of, current benches. Private companies are also legally allowed to place bayonets on their property, such as on a windowsill.

In an interview hosted by Mall.tv, architect Adam Gebrian also weighed in, saying that the practice of purposefully not installing – or removing – benches outside shopping centers was unethical.

Both Gebrian and Kripnerová referenced the area outside Prague’s Quadrio shopping center, where all benches that had originally been installed have been removed, turning it into an antisocial place.

Famous sculptor Pavel Karous labels areas such as those outside Quadrio as being detrimental not only to homeless people, but also to the regular person.

“Today, you can't sit there without at least having a coffee,” he told Refresher.cz as he outlines how people in some locations now have to pay in order to have the right to some relaxation.

According to Karous, public space is being changed “to make it inconvenient for people who do not spend money there.” 

Private companies that own outside space in the city are, within reason, able to choose the types of facilities they have in the area with only limited input from the government. 

Urban development sites, according to Karous, are therefore becoming increasingly hostile to homeless people as a way to deter them.

A more humane method of diverting homeless people away from public areas would be to provide them with additional support. According to Praha.eu, there are “50 shelters, hostels, and low-threshold day centers” across the capital. 

Architects have lost much of their “professional integrity,” according to Karous, and it is now in the hands of Prague’s city councils and architects to stop public spaces from turning into an environment that is too hostile to the homeless and public alike.