HB 6400, An Act Prohibiting Hostile Architecture

The ACLU-CT believes that all members of the public have a right to exist and enjoy public space, including people who are experiencing homelessness. Hostile architecture is a relatively new addition to public spaces, but the idea of manipulating the landscape to exclude certain groups of people is not. Although people experiencing homelessness are an obvious target, this kind of design also makes public space inaccessible to people with disabilities, elderly people, pregnant people, families with children, working people. The shameful irony of hostile architecture in public spaces is that it actively discourages use of the space by the public.