Site Furniture

Sitting Together: How Benches Help Build Community

Benches offer much more than welcome respite for tired legs. They also offer the opportunity for participation, social connection, and a shared sense of belonging in public spaces.

a man plays guitar on a public park bench
Benches are a social resource, allowing people to observe, participate in, and belong to the local streetscape.

Why benches?

Benches, perhaps more than any other amenity, shape our public spaces, making them more welcoming, inviting, accessible, and inclusive. Benches have always been proletarian as well as utilitarian: Ancient Romans congregated on public benches, and in medieval Europe, where chairs were reserved for the wealthy and privileged, benches were the most common form of seating.

Two old men play chess on a bench
Benches allow people of all abilities and ages to spend more time outdoors, boosting physical and mental health and connecting them to their community.

Public benches offer so much more than a place to just sit down. Benches allow people of all abilities and ages to spend more time outdoors, boosting physical and mental health and connecting them to their community through shared public spaces. Adding benches to commercial districts and city squares allow generations to intermingle, both young families and seniors can participate in a shared public space regardless of age or mobility loss, either through disability or temporary injury. As our population ages, benches will become even more important to help break increasingly daunting trips to the grocery store or to other retail spaces into smaller, more manageable journeys.

Two children enjoy snacks on an outdoor bench
Public benches plays a crucial role in making local events and retail spaces accessible to young families with children as well as seniors.

Not only does the public bench play a crucial role in making local events and retail spaces accessible to families and seniors, above all, benches can build a real sense of community. A great example of this is the buddy bench phenomenon, a specially designated bench typically installed at elementary school playgrounds that invites a child to take a seat if they are lonely or looking for a friend. Buddy benches encapsulate that sense of community that all public benches promise: the possibility of staying in a shared space, watching the flow of people, resting, the chance to enjoy time alone, or even possibly make a friend. Benches are a social resource, allowing people to freely observe the urban landscape while enjoying a sense of belonging. During the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor park benches were one of the few places people could safely meet.

Bringing benches back

So important are benches to our ability to enjoy public areas that a lack of public benches in retail and civic spaces have inspired organized protests in cities around the world. Many of these protests are a public backlash against hostile architecture, a trend that saw planners and architects purposefully design uninviting amenities to deter loitering and prevent the homeless from sleeping in public spaces.

A couple holds hands on a public bench
Research shows that public benches contribute to the social and emotional well-being of communities, combatting loneliness, isolation, and increasing time spent outdoors and with friends.

But research has shown that the benefits of public benches far outweigh the negatives, and that so-called problem or anti-social behaviour is better described as “differently-social” and is generally well tolerated by people sharing public space. Benches are more than just places to sit—they contribute to the social and emotional well-being of communities, combatting loneliness, isolation, and increase time spent outdoors and with friends. Well-designed city spaces and amenities, including benches, contribute to safer more accessible communities, facilitating what renowned urban planner Jane Jacobs famously called “eyes on the street.” Public benches are, it turns out, good for the community.

Building better benches: construction and accessibility

A wide variety of bench materials and styles are available, including attractive wood, low maintenance metal, versatile plastic, and sturdy concrete, making them suitable to add to any space you can imagine. User comfort, wear over time, and how the bench will blend with its surroundings should be carefully considered when choosing a bench material. Concrete benches for example, wear well over time, but provide less comfort, while wood benches offer softer seating, but will require more maintenance over time.

A small girls sits on a metal bench
Choosing a bench material depends on a variety of factors, including maintenance requirements and the bench location.

Accessible benches are generally made to meet requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which were designed to ensure that wheelchair users can transfer from chair to bench with ease in specific settings, such as saunas, dressing areas, and locker rooms. The requirements do not apply to outdoor benches, where wheelchair users would typically pull up alongside the bench with the need to transition out of the wheelchair. Nonetheless, many outdoor benches are still often made to ADA bench standards to provide more inclusive outdoor seating options for wheelchair users.

ADA bench guidelines require a minimum bench height of 17 inches and a maximum bench height of 19 inches. An ADA regulation bench should be a minimum 20 inches deep to a maximum of 24 inches deep. The bench should also offer back support, to a minimum of 42 inches long and 18 inches high, or be placed against a wall. Back support must start at a maximum of 2 inches above the bench seat. The bench must be able to support 250 lbs of stress, and the surface of the bench should be slip-resistant if installed in a wet location.

ADA Accessible Bench Requirements Reference Chart

Minimum

Maximum

Height

17 inches

19 inches

Depth

20 inches

24 inches

Length

42 inches

 

Back Support Length

42 inches

 

Back Support Height

18 inches

 

Minimum

Height

17 inches

Depth

20 inches

Length

42 inches

Back Support Length

42 inches

Back Support Height

18 inches

Maximum

Height

19 inches

Depth

24 inches

Length

 

Back Support Length

 

Back Support Height

 

Location, location, location: bench placement

Where you put your bench is going to determine how successfully it invites people to linger and enliven your public space. To maximize the benefits of installing a public or park bench, make sure it’s facing an activity or area of interest, such as a scenic view or a pathway, where opportunities for people-watching are plentiful. Other considerations include shade, shelter from the wind and other elements, and offering a protected back for maximum comfort and safety. Ideally, benches should be placed close to other amenities, such as trash cans.

A woman sits on a park bench
Choose a location adjacent to a point of interest, such as a pathway, when placing a bench.

The humble public bench isn’t often given the recognition it’s due. Adding this simple public amenity to your park, public square, business, or retail area can create safe, welcoming, accessible, and inclusive public spaces for people of all ages and abilities.