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If you like/ are interested in this, I highly recommend looking at Dan Kerr's Derelict Paradise[1]. While it's centered in on Cleveland, Ohio, the book describe
by esnowrackley 5y ago
If you like/ are interested in this, I highly recommend looking at Dan Kerr's Derelict Paradise[1]. While it's centered in on Cleveland, Ohio, the book describes a history that applies to many American cities from the early industrial period to the present. He reports on how homelessness came to be-- it didn't always exist in major cities at the scale it does now, but housing law coupled with developers and other private interests have transformed cities in the name of development in baffling ways.
I'm tempted to give examples from the book, but he says it better. Definitely worth the read.
[1] https://www.umasspress.com/9781558498495/derelict-paradise/ https://www.umasspress.com/9781558498495/derelict-paradise/
- whimsicalism 5y ago> He reports on how homelessness came to be-- it didn't always exist in major cities at the scale it does now, I disagree - Compare with the Hoovervilles of the 1930s The only difference is now we have a more sophisticated police/surveillance/carceral system so we stop people from building little mini slums on the side of highways and in parks.
- esnowrackley 5y agoHe talks about the 1930s a lot (the picture on the cover is actually from a Hooverville)! He starts off earlier, definitely worth digging into. Even as things have changed, he focuses a lot on the policy and development patterns that have either perpetuated or created the conditions of modern homelessness as well as the impact that has on actual economic development in the area. He's also got some great talks on YT that get into the content of the book a little: https://youtu.be/qwvhxfNDpSQ https://youtu.be/qwvhxfNDpSQ