Out of Place: Homeless Mobilizations, Subcities, and Contested Landscapes

Interruptions: Border Testimony(ies) and Critical Discourse/s

by Talmadge Wright

Homeless persons find themselves excluded, repressed, and displaced in all sectors of everyday life--from punitive police and city zoning practices to media stereotypes. Wandering through the streets of developing cities, these poorest of the poor have no place to go. More and more, these city developments are not simply accepted passively; rather, resistance by organized homeless groups--civil protests, squatting, and legal advocacy--spread as conditions of everyday life deteriorate for the very poor. Out of Place: Homeless Mobilizations, Subcities, and Contested Landscapes details the development of two organized homeless resistances in two different cities. From the redevelopment protesters and squatting activities of the Student-Homeless Alliance in San Jose to the squatter camps of Tranquility City in Chicago, the differences and similarities between both groups are highlighted within the context of city redevelopment policies. Wright argues for considering homelessness not merely as an issue for social welfare, but first and foremost as a land use issue directly connected to issues of gentrification, displacement, and the cultural imaginings of what the city should look like by those who have the power to shape its development. How the homeless combat the restructurings of everyday life, how they attempt to establish a "place" is understood within the context of tactical resistances. Questions of collective identity and collective action are raised as a result of the successful organizing efforts of homeless groups who refuse to be victims. The struggle between individual and collective forms of empowerment is highlighted, with the conclusions pointing to the necessity to rethink and go beyond the traditional solutions of more housing and job training.

408 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 1997

Reviews

[Charlie Quimby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple books on homelessness share the title Out of Place. This one dates from the Nineties, however, its observations and conclusions still seem current.

The writing is quite dense in parts, but accessible where it describes particular actions taken by homeless communities.

I found it useful in helping develop a theoretical framework for how space becomes contested in cities. For academic readers.