Bonnie Support Services

Bonnie Support Services

New thinking around homelessness

We love this creative and compassionate idea from the UK. It’s one designer’s response to homelessness in London.

post-homelessnessJames Furzer conceived the pods not as a solution but as a new way of thinking about protecting the safety and comfort of people sleeping out. He was alarmed by the influx of public spaces in the UK that are designed to shoo homeless people away.

“Recently there has been a rise in ‘hostile architecture’ across London,” he explained, noting the “anti-homeless spikes” that aim to keep homeless people from resting around town. He sees this hostile architectural trend as merely a deterrent to the homeless, not a help. His pods especially address safety issues and he cites recent research that homeless people in the UK are 13 times more likely to experience violence than people who aren’t homeless.

The pods are very cool to look at and show us that there are many ways to approach any problem. We think it is great that people in other disciplines are thinking about what we are thinking about. And doing something about it.

Many heads make light work!

Read the whole story and see more images here.

 

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