Tacoma's streets are seeing an influx of boulders, benches, and fences—a purposeful design by the city aimed at preventing the homeless from setting up encampments. However, these measures, referred to as "hostile architecture," have sparked considerable debate regarding their effectiveness and humanity. According to KING 5 News, Rob Huff, a spokesperson from Tacoma Piece County Coalition to End Homelessness, observed the impact of these tactics: "It is definitely making people move somewhere else but the challenge is folks don’t really have a place where they can go."
Indeed, the questionable effect of these strategies is underscored by the realities of shelter availability. "On any given night, there might be between 5-10 shelter spaces open right, and the number of people being displaced by this activity is significantly higher than that," Huff told KING 5 News. With spending over $160,000 on boulders, the city's tactics raise questions about resource allocation and the underlying issues contributing to homelessness.
The city clarifies its strategy as being responsive to community needs. "The City generally responds to requests from businesses and residents to do site reclamation work and they’re handled on a first come, first served basis unless there is an emergent need,” Lee told The News Tribune. This response comes amid concerns over the true beneficiaries of such measures and whether they address the root causes of homelessness or merely push the problem to different locales.
Moreover, these anti-homeless measures have been met with tenacity by those they aim to displace. Despite efforts to clean sweeps and erect barriers like tall fencing to prevent encampments, homeless individuals have persisted. "The campers broke through the fence and have been there for weeks as the encampment continues to grow," reported Tacoma Weekly, highlighting the resistance to a city policy that some argue does not offer sustainable solutions to homelessness.
