Hostile Streets: Designing for Inclusive Public Space

Abstract

This paper is an intervention in the dehumanization of unhoused persons. I examine the intersection of urban design, public space, and homelessness through the lens of infrahumanization. Informed by a literature review and media scan, this paper questions whether unhoused people are considered valued human members of the public in urban design decision-making processes in the city of Toronto, Canada. This study raises new questions about the possibilities of human-centred design that might address the exclusionary consequences of hostile design practices and disrupt the infrahumanization of unhoused persons as devalued outcasts of the city.