‘That’s a dog kennel’: London Tube’s ‘calm space’ in station meets with public ridicule and confusion

A pilot project trialing a “calm space” for neurodivergent subway travelers in London has met with bemusement — and some gentle ridicule — from the public, due to the size, design and location of the new refuge.

The initiative by subway and bus authority Transport for London (TFL) aims to support neurodivergent travelers — including the more than one in 100 people in the UK on the autism spectrum, many of whom face intense sensory challenges from loud noises and crowded spaces.

In the trial, a small, open-fronted pod manufactured by US firm NOOK has been placed at Ealing Broadway Tube station in west London.

The idea is to “support customers who may find travelling overwhelming and need a quiet space to pause, regulate and recover before continuing their journey,” TFL said in a statement published Friday.

The trial is being run in partnership with autism charity Autistica , it said.

TFL also posted about the Ealing Broadway trial on Facebook , where many users praised the aim of the initiative — but questioned its execution.

“From someone that needs it…It doesn’t look like a calm space to me (the construction nor the location),” wrote one Facebook user. “But appreciate the thought.”

Others questioned the size of the space, with multiple comments likening it to a “dog kennel.”

“It looks like a calm space for ants,” wrote one commenter.

Another criticized the choice of location.

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“If it’s supposed to be a ‘calm’ place, then it’s at the wrong location at the top of the stairs to the platforms and near the lifts,” she wrote.

Another commenter offered constructive criticism about the design.

“As someone who’s autistic, that needs a door,” she wrote.

“You’re literally exposed, it’s just a bench with a roof,” she added. “Good effort but maybe turn it the other way so people won’t be like animals in a zoo and gawped at.”

Other comments included one claiming that “the calm space is basically a cupboard;” another that questioned whether it was designed for the diminutive Hobbit people from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy books; and one person who said they could “just picture teenagers in there vaping or a drunk person asleep!”

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The pod will remain in place for at least four weeks, said TFL, which added that another calm space will be trialed at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden for a period of eight weeks.

CNN has reached out to TFL for further comment.

Autistica offered a statement from its senior research manager, Michelle Newman, stressing the importance of accessible transport. “As we push for neuroinclusive spaces in education, healthcare, and employment, we’re reminded that accessibility must start with the journey to these places,” she said.

伦敦一项为神经多样性地铁乘客试行“平静空间”的试点项目，由于新避难所的规模、设计和位置，引起了公众的困惑，甚至招致了一些温和的嘲笑。

伦敦地铁和公交管理机构伦敦交通局 (TFL) 的这项举措旨在为神经多样性旅客提供支持，其中包括英国超过 1% 的自闭症谱系人士，他们中的许多人面临着来自噪音和拥挤空间的强烈感官挑战。

在试验中，由美国公司 NOOK 制造的小型开放式舱体被放置在伦敦西部的伊灵百老汇地铁站。

伦敦交通局在周五发表的一份声明中表示，此举旨在“为那些可能觉得旅行压力过大，需要安静空间停下来、调整状态和恢复体力的乘客提供支持，然后再继续他们的旅程”。

该试验是与自闭症慈善机构Autistica合作开展的。

TFL还在Facebook上发布了关于伊灵百老汇试行活动的消息，许多用户称赞了该举措的目标，但对其执行方式提出了质疑。

一位Facebook用户写道：“对于一个需要安静空间的人来说……在我看来，无论是建筑风格还是地理位置，都算不上一个安静的地方。不过，感谢你的好意。”

其他人则对空间大小提出质疑，许多人评论说它像“狗窝”。

一位评论者写道：“这里看起来像是蚂蚁的宁静之地。”

另有人批评了选址问题。

在地铁上用餐——这在伦敦很流行。

她写道：“如果这里应该是一个‘安静’的地方，那么它的位置就错了，它位于通往站台的楼梯顶端，靠近电梯。”

另一位评论者对设计提出了建设性批评。

“作为一个自闭症患者，我认为这里需要一扇门，”她写道。

“你完全暴露在外，就只是个带顶棚的长椅，”她补充道。“想法不错，但或许应该换个方向，这样人们就不会像动物园里的动物一样被围观了。”

其他评论包括有人声称“这个安静的空间基本上就是一个橱柜”；有人质疑它是否是为J·R·R·托尔金奇幻小说中身材矮小的霍比特人设计的；还有人说他们“可以想象青少年在里面抽电子烟，或者醉汉在里面睡觉！”

一名坐轮椅的乘客称，他不得不拖着自己才能离开加拿大航空公司的飞机。

伦敦交通局表示，该隔离舱将至少保留四周，并补充说，另一个安静空间将在科文特花园的伦敦交通博物馆进行为期八周的试验。

CNN已联系TFL寻求进一步置评。

Autistica的高级研究经理米歇尔·纽曼发表声明，强调了无障碍交通的重要性。她说：“当我们努力在教育、医疗和就业领域打造神经包容性空间时，我们意识到，无障碍必须从前往这些场所的旅程开始。”