Homelessness in Affluent Societies

Edited by J. Timo Weishaupt, Professor of Sociology, Jan Weckwerth, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Sociology, University of Goettingen and Christian Hinrichs, Lecturer, Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Germany

‘Despite cross-national variation in its prevalence and character, homelessness is a profound, sustained and growing socio-economic and human rights problem in virtually every wealthy capitalist nation, even those with highly developed welfare states. Adapting and integrating central ideas from the work of Pierre Bourdieu, this book clarifies and extends our understanding of the micro, meso and macro forces responsible for the durability of homelessness. Accessible and well-organised, it is a valuable contribution and essential reading on one of the most extreme and pernicious manifestations of poverty.’

• Contents1 Introduction: theorizing homelessness in affluent societies 1J. Timo Weishaupt, Jan Weckwerth and Christian Hinrichs2 Vulnerable women, precarious safety nets: unpacking whenand why the welfare state fails to protect women from andduring homelessness 32J. Timo Weishaupt3 Navigating institutional logics and mediums of social control:the embodied visibility of women experiencing multipleexclusion homelessness in public spaces 47Heather Williams4 Variegated strategies to cope with homelessness andprecarious housing in Santiago de Chile: the relevance ofgender in housing pathways and political participation 64Mauricio Lara Martínez5 Crossing borders, losing ground: exploring the links betweenhomelessness and migration in contemporary Europe 81Christian Hinrichs6 Shelter from the storm: exploring the role of third-sectororganizations in addressing migrant homelessness in Italy 96Senyo Dotsey7 Theorizing the links between precarious housing andhomelessness: effects of territorial stigmatization and microspatial polarization 113Jan Weckwerth8 Lack of housing or ‘dwelling paradox’? Housing, socialnorms, and commodification of services as sites of unhousedpersons’ struggle for infrastructure access 131Andrea Protschky9 Voices from the margins: participatory research inhomelessness studies 147Jochen Sawilla10 Exploring homeless people’s identification with the citythrough visual and discursive narratives 164Veronica Polin11 In the streets of the Bronx: can unsheltered homelessness bereduced in NYC’s poorest borough? 184Noel Concepción, Juan P. Rivera and Allyce Morrissey12 Doing Housing First: perspectives and experiences of socialworkers and new tenants from pilot projects in NorthernBavaria (Germany) 204Anna Xymena Tissot, Frank Sowa and Nora Sellner13 Evaluating trials on basic income and homelessness using thePolanyian capabilitarian framework 218Verena Löffler14 Conclusions: understanding homelessness in affluent societies 234J. Timo Weishaupt, Jan Weckwerth and Christian Hinrichs