Panchine per tutti tra inclusione e design ostile = Benches for All between Inclusive and Unpleasant Design

In recent years, a new model of bench defined as “inclusive” has been installed in many Italian cities and villages. It is a seat intended for parks and urban areas characterized by the absence of a central seat, a void with a backrest, almost always distinguished by the international Symbol of Accessibility, in which a person using a wheelchair should sit. The product, marketed by many companies, and made with different materials and shapes, had a great response from the municipal administrations and was chosen and exhibited, emphasizing its inclusion characteristics. Actually, the response from stakeholders was critical, both with respect to the functionality of the product and the message it implies. At the same time this bench can be considered as an anti-homeless bench, since it is impossible to lie down on it and, in this sense, its adoption could be considered ambiguous. The paper proposes a reflection on outdoor seating and how such simple objects can be read as inclusive but also considered as examples of Hostile Architecture or Unpleasant Design, understood as a set of strategies implemented to control and influence people’s behaviour within public space, in whose sphere of action there is often the risk of confusing objects and functions. Benches with armrests, for example, can be considered as anti-loiter seats since they prevent the homeless from lying down, but at the same time the armrests are valid aids for elderly people who can support themselves to get up and sit down.