Image on your left: A public bench with automated spikes will keep you from loitering.
Image on your right: This seem like a dreamy joke but is a reality in Helsinki.. Possibly in other cities too. As mentioned in previous posts technology-to-prevent-sitting-you-wont-believe there is technology out there already in use which is intended to make you feel uncomfortable when attempting to rest in the city.
I remember when these seats arrived to Malminkartano, a suburb of Helsinki during the 1990 recession. People where drinking publicly on the plaza and devices like this (an other device had spikes) emerged. As it is a World Design Capital (WDC) year now the plaza when under renovation and for a while it seemed that some development would happen.
The plaza is ready now. Everything tip-top with World Design Capital logos in nifty banners. But it seems the technology to prevent sitting still remains in place. (See image top Right – Reality After Renovation).
And here is something novel.. Individual public benches.There is not a term to describe these.
There is a disabled symbol next to the seat but it’s a facade. As mentioned in a recent article is Helsingin Sanomat (http://omakaupunki.hs.fi/paakaupunkiseutu/uutiset/juopot_halutaan_pois_penkeilta/) article the benches are mainly intended to keep people from sleeping and drinking in public spaces.
I don’t know what irritates me more. The fact that city official claim that they are “taking disabled people into consideration” with these individual set/benches (surely disabled people will benefit out of broader benches as their friends [note plural] could sit with them) or that seeing people drinking publicly causes so much stress in city officials that they start on destroying spaces of communal gathering. Surely isolating people from each other using these kinds of seats will lead to depression and more drinking. Don’t you think?
(This photo: Jukka Noponen)