LettersWhy must Hong Kong’s homeless be faced with hostile architecture at every turn?

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Elderly people gather near the football terraces at Southorn Playground in Wan Chai on January 14, 2014. The dividers on the terraces appear to be placed to prevent homeless people from sleeping there. Photo: SCMP

Published: 7:30am, 29 Jun 2020Updated: 7:30am, 29 Jun 2020

One’s concern over the prevalence of hostile architecture in Hong Kong could only increase after a visit to Southorn Playground in Wan Chai.

There are numerous steel dividers in the concrete terraces of the football pitch, ostensibly to create small, individual seats. They are unsightly and are now perfect surfaces for the Covid-19 virus to exist on. They would need to be disinfected several times daily to keep them clean and safe.

The real purpose of the dividers is to prevent people, particularly the homeless, from sleeping on the terraces. Has our society become so heartless that it is unable to tolerate a few of its most downtrodden members finding refuge in what are often sparsely occupied terraces, or lying down there just for some rest? We know that ours is a much more compassionate society than the hostile architecture in Southorn Playground would suggest.

Those hideous dividers also remind one of what police in England did during the lockdown there. To help enforce it, they dyed a lagoon black to deter people from visiting.

Whether it is wrecking picturesque spots in England or the simple aesthetic of football terraces in Hong Kong, the good sense of those responsible for making these decisions is questionable.

Clemence Yeung, Admiralty