I read the story about hostile architecture, “Not built for comfort,” with total disgust (Feb. 12, The Columbian).
As a person who has worked with homeless people, I can tell you that most would rather not be there. They gather where they do for the sake of survival. Staying under an overpass that blocks the rain is better than getting wet and dying of hypothermia. Using infrastructure to punish these people and to make their lives harder is just plain inhumane. It is also terrible to push these people around by moving them constantly from place to place. What an embarrassment to our community.
If it is so important to keep homeless people out of the way, why isn’t the city investing in making a city-owned vacant lot available for people to camp on legitimately? Over a year ago, the city declared that homelessness was an emergency. If that is so, more positive, cost-effective emergency measures could and should be taken.
