Street People and the Contested Realms of Public Space

Download or read book Street People and the Contested Realms of Public Space written by Randall Amster and published by LFB Scholarly Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amster studies the social and spatial implications of homelessness in America. Increasingly, commentators have lamented the erosion of public space, charting its decline along with the rise of commercialization and privatization. A result is the criminalization of homelessness, a phenomenon revealed here through participant observations, informal conversations, and in-depth interviews with street people, city officials, and social service providers. Amster explores the interconnections among: (i) the impetus of development and gentrification; (ii) the enactment of anti-homeless ordinances and regulations; (iii) the material and ideological erosion of public space; (iv) emerging forces of resistance to these trends; and (v) the continuing viability of anti-systemic movements.