The City of Tulsa recently placed a large number of huge, jagged boulders along the sidewalk of the 4th and Denver Bus Station, one of the main hubs for Tulsa’s bus system. These boulders are linked, in the City’s statement, to the area’s homeless population, and the desire to give that population more robust services: the assumption being that, instead of hanging out on the sidewalks at this location, they could take the City’s free shuttle to BeHeard, which offers a daytime shelter, showers, and food. Additionally, and more bizarrely, the City has stated that the boulders are part of a “community art project.”
Community art project? Boulders on the sidewalk? You’re talking about these guys?
How funny. This is obviously an example—and quite an ugly one at that—of hostile architecture, which attempts to ward off homeless individuals through uncomfortable or impossible-to-enjoy benches, sidewalks, whatever—think of bird-deterrent spikes. It’s not even a veiled attempt by the City, whose statement directly links the boulders to the homeless population. Add it to the list of ways that the City is making life hard for the homeless.