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.

5. The Camden Bench is better at repelling people than actually serving any purpose.

In addition to being difficult to skate on, the bench is specially made to prevent people from covering it in stickers, posters, and graffiti. Its odd shape also discourages homeless people from sleeping on it but also reportedly makes it uncomfortable to sit on.

After all, you'd have to perch on a sloped seat with no backrest.

6. Some light poles have rippled outer layers to prevent stickers and posters.

These stickers are apparently a safety hazard when workers have to fix one of the lights. However, neither the power companies nor the police have the resources to take them all down. 

So, some cities like Seoul, South Korea have taken to covering their poles in sticker-resistant sheaths.

7. Some cities are trying to make it impossible to sleep under bridges.

Whether we're talking about these concrete spikes in Guangzhou, China or the uneven boulders of Calgary, Canada, both ensure that no homeless residents can take shelter under each city's bridges.

While these design choices are built to push people out, some others are intended to keep people in.

8. Many escalators are placed the way they are for one specific reason.

Most shopping malls put their escalators on opposite sides of the room, which forces you to walk past more stores before you can get up to the floor you want.  

9. Some security cameras work better when you can see them than when they can see you.

Back in 2002, the New York City Department of Transportation placed 200 empty traffic cameras throughout the city, which made drivers question which ones were real. Both the real and the fake cameras featured flashing lights and were easy to spot in the hopes that drivers would watch their behavior once they saw them. 

10. If a district is designed a certain way, you don't need cameras at all.

A city planning approach called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design promotes installing large windows, low fences and lots of street-level lighting. All of these design choices come together to make potential criminals feel like they're always being watched.

While it's easy to understand why city planners would want to prevent crime, one famous "master builder" had some more sinister ideas in mind.

11. Robert Moses intentionally built low bridges to keep buses away from his parks.

From its highways to its parks to its parkways, Moses shaped much of New York City throughout his career. However, his prejudices against the poor and people of color were well-documented. 

These ill feelings led him to plan bridges so low that only New Yorkers wealthy enough to own cars could visit parks like Long Island's Jones Beach. He also reportedly kept the water temperatures down at an East Harlem swimming pool because he believed black people disliked cold water. 

12. Some businesses put blue lights in their bathrooms to stamp out drug use.

The idea is that a heroin user won't be able to find a vein in a room full of blue light. While the lighting does make this more difficult, Canadian researchers found that at least half of their study participants will still try to shoot up if they're feeling an urgent need.

As far as they could tell, the blue lights only made injecting more dangerous and increased drug-related harms.

13. Some business owners install "mosquito devices" to drive away teenagers. 

These boxes don't release mosquitoes, but rather shrill, high-frequency tones that you can only hear when you're young. This is because they're picked up by sensitive hair cells in the inner ear that we tend to lose as we get older.

Users say the devices cut down on loitering and fights while critics argue they infringe on the basic rights of young people. For their part, some teens have managed to use the tones to their advantage by developing ringtones that their teachers can't hear.

Don't forget to COMMENT and tell us about the hassles your city has given you.

h/t BBC