In Brussels’ public space, signs of hostile architecture are multiplying: sloped benches, spiked ledges, sound deterrents, decorative fences… all designed to prevent people from staying too long. Behind this lies a clear intent: to push poverty out of sight, even if it makes life harder for those most vulnerable.
For several years now, we've seen an increase in infrastructures designed to keep homeless people away. Often subtle, these measures fall under hostile architecture and make it impossible to lie down, rest, or seek basic shelter from the weather.
At first glance, these elements may look like aesthetic improvements. But their real aim is to exclude people experiencing homelessness. By trying to clean up the urban landscape, cities contribute to the systemic invisibilization of homelessness, without offering real solutions.
A striking example is Brussels-South station. Previously, some waiting rooms stayed open and certain corners offered minimal protection. Now, those spaces are blocked with metal barriers or decorative plants. And this strategy is spreading to metro stations like Porte de Namur and public squares, as social worker Séverine points out.
These features serve a double function: they beautify the city for some and make it unlivable for others. Beauty becomes a tool of exclusion. And it has real-life consequences: removing small shelters means disturbing and exhausting already fragile lives.
Many unhoused people no longer have a safe place to sleep. Their belongings have nowhere to be kept dry or secure. Some are forced to remain still for hours just to protect their things, like Mr. G., who stood guard at a parking entrance, afraid to move.
Hiding becomes a survival reflex, but it does not guarantee safety. Living constantly with fear and instability has severe effects.
This logic has a collective cost. It also affects those working in the field: outreach teams, social workers and NGOs. These changes require public funds, time and labor resources that could instead support long-term solutions.
As Marie, a social worker, suggests: “Why not adapt day shelters so people can nap during the day?” Small gestures can offer real respite and dignity.
Instead, we see growing obstacles: fewer safe spaces, more fatigue, more wandering. Every outreach round is harder. For unhoused people, every day becomes an added challenge. “It’s time, energy and money we could spend elsewhere,” says Natalia, nurse. The feeling is unanimous: the city makes life even harder for those already struggling.
In this increasingly hostile environment, one basic idea keeps coming back: allow people to rest. Creating safe spaces where one can sleep without fear, even briefly, could change everything. Because behind all these defensive measures, one thing is clear: the only real solution is housing.
Basic hygiene is still a major challenge
Besides shelter, access to hygiene is another key issue. In Brussels, free toilets, drinking water and showers are extremely limited. Most public toilets cost between €0.50 and €1.10. For someone with no income, it’s a real barrier.
This is where Street Nurses comes in. We take concrete action to improve the living conditions of people experiencing homelessness: raising awareness, providing medical support, helping with social reintegration.
One of our most practical tools is the plan for drinking water fountains, which lists free water fountains and toilets across the city. It can be downloaded to a smartphone, ordered in print, or found posted in several metro stations.
Discover the plan for drinking water fountains
This simple yet important tool helps people navigate the city, meet their basic needs, and regain a sense of autonomy.
Real improvements are needed and urgent
Despite some progress, the situation remains critical. Within the Brussels Pentagon, the number of fountains increased from 30 to 33, and in the outskirts from 63 to 85. There are now 19 free public toilets in the center, compared to 16 in 2021, but 2 are closed and 6 are urinals, inaccessible to part of the population.
Outside the city center, four new installations have been added since 2021, but one is already out of order. Only 42 are functional today.
Meanwhile, hostile design is gaining ground. The decisions seem to aim not to welcome, but to exclude, to make poverty disappear by hiding it rather than addressing it.
The figures speak for themselves: from 7,000 unhoused people in 2022 to over 10,000 in 2024, including 1,600 minors. This crisis demands a new vision of public space as a common good, open to all.
Let’s make our cities a place of solidarity, not exclusion.