Homeless people and public space: the contradictory manifestations of aporophobia and urban kindness at the present time

The consolidation of spatially segregated cities produced naturalized forms of perception of the place that each social group has in urban space. In this scenario of permanent social conflicts, polarized tendencies of architectural and urban interventions in the public space emerged. On the one hand, there are interventions that value the coexistence of social diversity in the public space, and, on the other hand, there are proposals of intolerance. The first are, in general, called as urban kindness practices. The second, as aporophobia. Both affects, above all, the homeless population. On regard of that, the objective of this article is to contribute to the discussion about the experience of homeless people in the public space from the tensions produced by the currently interventions in the public space that are manifested according to these contradictory practices. This research has taken place through literature review, documental research and observations. It is considered that the interventions that appreciate the values of urban kindness positively affects the lives of people who are homeless and that should be encouraged, and that, in parallel, it must be established the containment of aporophobic urban interventions.