Lost In Space »

Amster explores the historical and contemporary implications of homelessness as a social and spatial problem, drawing upon academic disciplines and policy concerns ranging from urban geography to legal advocacy. Homeless people find themselves in a struggle to preserve places that are theoretically open to everyone regardless of status. Urban spaces in particular manifest a complex ecology comprised of people, culture, architecture, technology, and the natural environment, expressed through gentrification, redevelopment, and privatization. In this ecology, homeless people are criminalized for performing basic activities such as sitting or sleeping. These trends are evident across the U.S. and internationally, linking local issues with wider forces of globalization.

Figures and Illustrations

1 Facing the 'Homeless Problem': Subsistence, Survival, and Skid Row 1

2 Urban Ecology and Public Space: Disney, Development, and Dystopia 43

3 Patterns of Exclusion: The Perversity of Homeless Criminalization 79

4 Mapping the Territory: Meanings, Methodologies, Means and Ends 123

5 Case in Point: A Brief History of the Tempe Sidewalk Ordinance 143

6 The Ecology of Resistance: Human Rights Struggles and the Contested Realms of Public Space 169

7 Cities of the Future: Localizing the Global, Globalizing the Local 209

References 239

Index 265