Anti homeless gay rock

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Underpass was not pained in original image

The unaltered image shows the underpass was concrete and not painted rainbow colors.

The Guardian featured the photo in a 2015 article about ‘"defensive architecture," which describes architectural features sometimes used to prevent homeless individuals from sleeping in public places.

The Twitter user confirmed to USA TODAY that he altered the image and shared it as a joke. The original image was taken in China and the spikes were not rainbow-painted.

At its core, hostile or “defensive” architecture amounts to a forever campaign waged, consciously or otherwise, by designers, landlords, and developers to force people to use property in exactly one way.

In those cases, public or quasi-public spaces of cities—often defined by unequal access to transit, groceries, and other essentials—become a visceral extension of society’s collective disregard for their fate.

Hostile architecture can consist of bars in the middle of benches, small fences in business alcoves, or spikes cemented in chunks of sidewalk that seem random until you notice that the spot in question is protected from rain or the blistering sun.

According to the photo description, it was taken in Guangzhou in the Guangdong providence of China.

Guangzhou city leaders came under scrutiny in 2012 after social media users shared images of concrete spikes in areas frequented by homeless people.

Last week, a photo of a rainbow-colored rock in San Francisco went viral.

Our rating: Satire

We rate a photo of a pride-themed, spike-covered underpass SATIRE since it was altered by a comedian who confirmed the images’ satirical intent. And you can’t do that without knowing what it looks like.

Here are a few other examples of what might be classified as hostile architecture. It’s still unclear what this decision will mean to the estimated 550,000 homeless people in the country, nor the growing population in the Bay Area, which has massively increased over the past two years.

Definitely.

As “hostile architecture” posts have in the past, the story blew up for a few days on social media—until the Coalition deleted their original, having determined the restaurant was “a valued member” of the community and “supportive of its homeless neighbors.” That may be true, as the business explicitly denied anti-homeless intent, pointing to the rock as part of a Japanese garden.

The image was first shared as a tweet and has since spread across social platforms as a screenshot. And those obscenely sloped bus benches that allow people to only kind of lean against but not sit or, God forbid, lie down? But to the trained observer—in this case, as SFGate reported, the Coalition on Homelessness Twitter account—it represented a particularly odious form of “anti-homeless” hostile architecture.

You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. But in its most malignant form, hostile architecture can deter homeless folks from resting. But the pegs on handrails or the corners of cement benches that keep skateboarders from grinding away?

Fact check: Comedian satirically altered image to show pride-themed, spike-covered underpass
The claim: Image shows a pride-themed, spike-covered underpass
An altered image of a rainbow-painted, spike-covered underpass is raising some eyebrows on social media.
Fact check: Bending an electrical wire won't stop flow of electricity
A Facebook page that shared the image confirmed to USA TODAY in a message that it was intended satirically.
Comedian confirms he satirically altered the image
Comedian Hunter Penn posted the image to Twitter on April 5.

The original image was taken in Guangzhou, China, several years ago and shows the underpass was not painted.
Our fact-check sources:
Hunter Penn, April 5, tweet
Hunter Penn, accessed April 7, Twitter profile
MSDNC - Commentary & Satire, accessed April 7, Twitter profile
The Guardian, Feb. 18, 2015, "Anti-homeless spikes: ‘Sleeping rough opened my eyes to the city’s barbed cruelty’"
Pacific Standard, March 20, 2015, "UNKIND ARCHITECTURE: DESIGNING AGAINST THE HOMELESS"
Imaginechina, accessed April 7, Twitter profile
ChinaDaily.com.cn, July 6, 2012, "Vagrant-repelling spiked ground sparks fury"
Daily Mail, July 3, 2012, "Well that's one solution to people sleeping rough!

“Just to be clear I am on the left but am mocking performative gestures by wealthy Dems.”
As of April 7, the tweet had more than 2,800 retweets, 400 quote tweets and 17,000 likes.
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Some Twitter users criticized Penn for altering the image to slam Democrats while others jumped on board.

Boise court decision, they might not be punished for doing so on public property unless the city in question provides adequate indoor space. To the casual passerby, the stone displayed in the alcove of a business was a symbol of inclusivity, likely pegged to Pride month.
Previously, when asked about their strategy for managing public spaces, a spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation (DOT)—which had placed boulders where folks once camped in the Bay Area—said they “use fencing and landscaping elements to prevent and discourage….