13 Sneaky Ways That Cities Try To Control Your Behavior

No matter where you go, there’s a law of the land. Yet not all of those laws are so easy to enforce when you’re in a sprawling city with a large number of people. So, sometimes gaps in enforcement are made up by building solutions into the city itself. These involve making subtle changes to public structures that most people wouldn’t even notice but that send a clear message to those behaving in a way city planners don’t like.

When this works, it can then be tempting for designers to expand their reach from enforcing bylaws to controlling behavior that they may just find irritating. More to the point, these subtle design choices can be used as a tool to keep a city’s most misunderstood residents down.

It’s at this point that some citizens like Unpleasant Design writer Selena Savic may start to resent all of these built-in restrictions, especially if it feels like they make city life worse.

So to bring some light to the issue, let’s go through 13 key ways that city planning can direct what you do without you even knowing.

Be sure to COMMENT and tell us the ways your stomping grounds have kept you from flying free.

1. Those armrests in the middle of benches have nothing to do with comfort.

They were added to prevent homeless people from sleeping on benches. Critics of controlling designs like Savic have pointed out that young people and the homeless are often targeted the most by these little changes.

2. Some benches aren’t even made for sitting.

Designs like the leaning bench on the left and the “half bench” on the right go beyond preventing people from sleeping on them and ensure that people can’t sit comfortably on them. As with the armrests, these designs are supposed to keep homeless people from “camping out” as bus stops. However, senior citizens in Honolulu have criticized the benches for ruining what used to be a comfortable spot to rest.

3. Depending on where you are, some trash cans have little slots instead of open tops.

While this one is supposed to separate recyclables from litter, these types of garbage cans also ensure that you can’t throw away any larger items.

4. You may have noticed these “pig ears” on concrete edges.

They’re not just there for decoration, they’re supposed to send skateboarders tumbling if they try to grind on them. Sadly, these metal bars first appeared in San Francisco, one of skater culture’s biggest hometowns.

As much as skaters hate those, there’s one piece that tops them for being the least gnarly thing you could imagine.