Lodgers in a Crowded Bayard Street Tenement. Photo by Jacob Riis

When Lodgers Were “Evil”

A wave of immigration from eastern and southern Europe transformed urban landscapes, creating crowded tenements that stoked humanitarian concerns.
Peoples Park in Berkeley on April 1 2021

Intentional Unhoused Communities in Berkeley

Intentional communities provide opportunities for unhoused residents, but they also draw institutional criticism.
Antonio DeSilva, who is currently homeless, plays with his dogs outside his tent on September 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California

What Leisure Means for People Who Are Homeless

It's a human right to have opportunities for rest and time off. Even if you live on the streets.
A man doing the dishes at home

An Effective Treatment for Diabetes? Try an Apartment

Subsidized housing promotes the kind of stability that makes it easier for people with type 2 diabetes to maintain their health.
Homelessness in San Francisco

The Partisan Blame Game That Perpetuates Poverty

A sociological explanation for why the Bay's homelessness epidemic is so intractable.
Student homelessness

Tackling Student Homelessness

College students are notoriously strapped for cash. For some, however, that youthful poverty becomes actual homelessness.
Vagrant

The Hidden Subtext of Vagrancy

In recent years, activists in cities across the country have repeatedly clashed with municipal officials over anti-vagrancy laws.
42nd Street 1980s

Is There Really a Link between Mental Illness and Homelessness?

"Housing first” programs are helping cut homelessness in big ways. How significant is the link between mental illness and homelessness?
rio olympics

How Olympics Host Cities Hide Their Homeless

Olympic host cities have historically cleared away and marginalized their homeless in advance of the games.
Mogadishu,Somalia-April, 30, 2013 :A general view of the tent camp where thousands of Somali immigrants on April 30, 2013, in Mogadishu,Somalia.

The Power of Tent City Politics

How demonstrators can use their collective strength to force local governments to address a set of grievances.