Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Want to feed the homeless? Be prepared to pay the government for the privilege | Michelle Chen

"While a city can profit from the fines, fees, tourism revenues and real estate investment generated by commodifying public space, the ultimate cost is borne by those who can least afford it: the impoverished and the homeless. These days, even those who reach out with a simple act of charity are punished for their 'misconduct.'”
"There is, of course, a more straightforward way of eliminating homelessness: providing them with homes. . . . If this common-sense solution seems ab...surdly obvious, remember why cities resort to exclusion and policing in the first place: we’ve grown accustomed to seeing walls and fences as the only solution. After generations of trying to make 'undesirable' people vanish from the public’s midst, too many privileged people no longer even recognise the signs of desperation that surround us . We’ve forgotten what our own humanity looks like."
Cindy Milstein
Michelle Chen: Cities are enacting politics to keep homeless people out of sight and uphold a social order riven by racial and economic inequality
theguardian.com|By Michelle Chen

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