Legislators and lobbyists in the Connecticut state Capitol on Jan. 4, 2023, the first day of the legislative session. Stephen Busemeyer / CT Mirror

House Bill 6400, which would ban what’s called “hostile architecture” in Connecticut’s public spaces, had a public hearing in the Planning and Development Committee on Feb. 17.

Hostile architecture is an urban design method typically used to keep people from lying down or camping in a certain location; it often targets people experiencing homelessness.

It usually encompasses features such as armrests on benches, boulders or spikes. Most who submitted written testimony, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and Connecticut Voices for Children, were in favor of the bill. The Connecticut Council of Small Towns opposed the bill.

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Ginny is CT Mirror's children's issues and housing reporter and a Report for America corps member. She covers a variety of topics ranging from child welfare to affordable housing and zoning. Ginny grew up in Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas' Lemke School of Journalism in 2017. She began her career at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette where she covered housing, homelessness, and juvenile justice on the investigations team. Along the way Ginny was awarded a 2019 Data Fellowship through the Annenberg Center for Health Journalism at the University of Southern California. She moved to Connecticut in 2021.