I still don’t read that as a condemnation of all bench designers who fail to correct major societal problems. Rather, I see it as an admonition to stop designing things to mitigate small problems while ignoring the systemic issue–benches designed to stop homeless people from sleeping on them do nothing to get the homeless off the street and into shelters or jobs or whatever.
That’s not to say that every newly designed bench must also impart 40 acres and a mule. Can’t we design a bench that’s comfortable and functional without being a Dick Bench (“yeah, you can sit on me for five minutes, but you won’t enjoy it in the least, and I won’t allow anyone to do anything else on me except for sit–and to sit, you gotta be clean and have a job. And definitely no godamn skateboards!”).
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