Thank you for your important question regarding safety and design. It's a topic that cities and designers grapple with deeply. Our approach to urban bench design prioritizes creating safe, durable, and welcoming public spaces for *everyone* to enjoy briefly—whether for a lunch break, waiting for a bus, or chatting with a friend.
We focus on designs that encourage short-term sitting and communal use. This often involves benches with armrests or subtle dividers. These features provide stability for elderly or disabled individuals to sit down and rise safely, prevent skateboarding damage, and naturally discourage the bench from being used as a bed for prolonged sleeping. The primary goals are safety, accessibility for the intended use, and ensuring the bench remains available for the broad public.
We are acutely aware of the concerns surrounding "hostile architecture." We consciously avoid overtly aggressive designs like spikes, extreme angles, or bars that are purely punitive. Our ethos is to design with dignity, using standard ergonomic principles that define personal sitting space, not to deliberately inflict discomfort or exclude vulnerable populations. The challenge—and our commitment—is to steward public resources responsibly while fostering an inclusive and humane urban environment for all citizens. We believe thoughtful design can maintain public furniture functionality and longevity without resorting to overtly exclusionary tactics.