How Bike Racks Are Weaponized To Displace Unhoused People

In Portland, a set of mysteriously installed bike racks is prompting questions about their true purpose.

1 minute read

June 7, 2022, 11:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Powell's Bookstore

Bike racks outside of Powell's City of Books, Portland, Oregon | LO Kin-hei / Shutterstock

In an article in the Portland Mercury, Alex Zielinski describes “perhaps the most Portland form of ‘hostile architecture’: bike racks.” A set of 22 bike racks was mysteriously installed on a block of NW Broadway, prompting questions about who installed them and why. 

“Notably, this wall of bike racks appeared in front of what appears to be a vacant, boarded-up building with no attractions that would require hoards of bike parking,” Zielinski points out. However, “It's not unusual for multiple tents and other ad-hoc shelters to line this block in particular. The city's homeless encampment reporting system shows that members of the public have repeatedly reported campers on the sidewalk that's now dotted with bike racks.”

Portland isn’t the only place where bike racks have served as an anti-homeless measure. “In 2017, Seattle's transportation department coordinated with police to install bike racks on a sidewalk shortly after sweeping a homeless camp in the area. In this case, however, it's not a city-sponsored program.” In fact, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) was not aware of the installation. The owner of the adjacent vacant property did not respond to an inquiry about the bike racks.

Thursday, June 2, 2022 in The Portland Mercury

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

7 hours ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14 - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

July 14 - Los Angeles Public Press