Unpleasant Bench: How Cities Use Design to Control Your Behavior

Have you ever noticed that park benches have extra armrests in the middle? Or that ledges outside banks have strange metal studs? Or that public bathrooms use eerie blue lighting? These aren't design choices for aesthetics; they are weapons. "The Unpleasant Bench" exposes the world of "Hostile Architecture" (or Defensive Design), the practice of engineering public spaces to exclude unwanted people, specifically the homeless and teenagers.

The book analyzes famous examples like the "Camden Be...