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This is the hot thing in Northern California right now. They’re also doing it in Richmond and Sacramento that I know of.
It’s not too hard actually, if anyone is interested in doing it in their city I might be able to share some resources.
this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
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Solarpunk Urbanism
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A community to discuss solarpunk and other new and alternative urbanisms that seek to break away from our currently ecologically destructive urbanisms.
- Henri Lefebvre, The Right to the City — In brief, the right to the city is the right to the production of a city. The labor of a worker is the source of most of the value of a commodity that is expropriated by the owner. The worker, therefore, has a right to benefit from that value denied to them. In the same way, the urban citizen produces and reproduces the city through their own daily actions. However, the the city is expropriated from the urbanite by the rich and the state. The right to the city is therefore the right to appropriate the city by and for those who make and remake it.
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Sorry I had to ask around and this week was really busy so I didn't get to it right away.
The Charlotte Urbanists in North Carolina have a Benches 4 Bus Stops program that's doing similar work. I can also share info resources for those on the East Coast.
Though two of the benches were quickly removed, users were appreciative.
Benches could provide a brief moment of respite from chronic pain, fatigue, pregnancy, homelessness, etc... They certainly can't allow that! Seriously, fuck the people that decided to remove these.
haha that's amazing!
This was going on in Oakland as well, not sure if it still is.
Such a great project!
Sounds like 'installed' might be overselling it a little unfortunately - given that jerks carried them off. There are a few types of epoxy that could help. Pretty sure even JB Weld will stick wood to concrete. And they make some amazing specialist adhesives. It won't stop the city but might delay the NIMBYs for a day or two. (Especially if they're as old as I am and they throw their back out trying to pick it up the first time).
Concrete anchors with lag bolts would be wayyy more effective than epoxy - drill into the concrete, hammer in the anchors, and bolt that bench down so it takes serious tools and effort to remove it (bonus points if you use security-head bolts that need special drivers).
They would, but if I'm surreptitiously installing something to make a point, I'm not sure I want to start drilling into concrete. Maybe with a high vis vest during the workday.
Pretty cool to think of installing benches at bus stops. Anybody got an easy how to build a simple bench for cheap/free if using free wood?