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Towards a contextual approach to the place–homeless survival nexus: An exploratory case study of Los Angeles County

Towards a contextual approach to the place–homeless survival nexus: An exploratory case study of Los Angeles County
Towards a contextual approach to the place–homeless survival nexus: An exploratory case study of Los Angeles County
The characteristics of the immediate locale greatly affect the ability of homeless people to adapt to life on the street and in shelters, with different types of places nurturing different circumstances for survival. Current conceptualizations of the place–survival nexus are too narrow, relying on small-scale, intensive studies of particular places that are known to sustain homeless survival while ignoring more suburban and exurban locales, as well as failing to set these places of survival within the larger socio-economic spaces of the metropolitan area. Further, the literature is heavily qualitative, lacking any kind of ‘‘big picture” quantitative assessment of the nexus. In response, we contribute to the place–survival nexus literature by developing a typology of space for homeless survival and then use interview data to examine the variation in survival strategies across three types of urban space in Los Angeles County. Our results speak to how our innovative and exploratory approach enabled a broader, more extensive and variegated understanding of place–survival among homeless people than previous studies
homelessness, survival, adaptation, subsistence, space, place
0264-2751
11pp
Marr, Matthew D.
4b88fb54-985b-4e67-a50e-5be2f06abdee
Deverteuil, Geoffrey
22636102-b1c3-47fc-936a-f370dd6d5856
Snow, David
c4242fb8-338a-4ea0-ae6d-60772bc54b8c
Marr, Matthew D.
4b88fb54-985b-4e67-a50e-5be2f06abdee
Deverteuil, Geoffrey
22636102-b1c3-47fc-936a-f370dd6d5856
Snow, David
c4242fb8-338a-4ea0-ae6d-60772bc54b8c

Marr, Matthew D., Deverteuil, Geoffrey and Snow, David (2009) Towards a contextual approach to the place–homeless survival nexus: An exploratory case study of Los Angeles County. Cities, 26 (6), 11pp. (doi:10.1016/j.cities.2009.07.008).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The characteristics of the immediate locale greatly affect the ability of homeless people to adapt to life on the street and in shelters, with different types of places nurturing different circumstances for survival. Current conceptualizations of the place–survival nexus are too narrow, relying on small-scale, intensive studies of particular places that are known to sustain homeless survival while ignoring more suburban and exurban locales, as well as failing to set these places of survival within the larger socio-economic spaces of the metropolitan area. Further, the literature is heavily qualitative, lacking any kind of ‘‘big picture” quantitative assessment of the nexus. In response, we contribute to the place–survival nexus literature by developing a typology of space for homeless survival and then use interview data to examine the variation in survival strategies across three types of urban space in Los Angeles County. Our results speak to how our innovative and exploratory approach enabled a broader, more extensive and variegated understanding of place–survival among homeless people than previous studies

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Published date: 16 October 2009
Keywords: homelessness, survival, adaptation, subsistence, space, place

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 69173
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/69173
ISSN: 0264-2751
PURE UUID: d617ebd2-e49a-4978-855d-4de91461de8f

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Date deposited: 22 Oct 2009
Last modified: 13 Mar 2024 19:24

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Contributors

Author: Matthew D. Marr
Author: Geoffrey Deverteuil
Author: David Snow

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