Accomplishing Place in Public Space: Autoethnographic Accounts of Homelessness

Abstract

Recognizing the deep-seated need many people share for a sense of home, we employ autoethnography to illustrate how those who are homeless can make homelike places within public spaces. By revisiting and reflexively analyzing various accounts of homelessness as experienced by one of the authors, we show that home can be made through (a) re-appropriating public spaces, (b) harnessing feelings of safety, and (c) interacting with others. We conclude by discussing how this homemaking process not only reinforces the claim that many people desire home, but also motivates us to think about the ways in which public spaces might cater to this desire in an era of urban renewal.

Place and space in social work

“…(2015: 4) in their study on how First Nation Communities in Canada teach medicine gathering and self-care used art-voice as a method to complement the communities current and historical practices of creating fine art ‘to embrace their cultural identity and reject colonialism’. The work of Rennels and Purnell (2017) is also an example of methods in place and an attention to spaces within place. Their exploration of homelessness uses autoethnography to harness knowledge about safety within spaces, how public space can be reappropriated and they also account for how it feels to be homeless in specific spaces (Rennels and Purnell, 2017: 490).…”

Making home? Permitted and prohibited place-making in youth homeless accommodation

“…It is the 'something more' feature of home that distinguishes it from other places and thus which distinguishes home-making from place-making. 'Place', in the context of domestic life 1 , is more commonly used when considering the darker side of home as exemplified by Wilson et al's (2012) study above (see also Rennels & Purnell, 2017). When the ideal of home is compromised, 'place' offers a useful substitute; it indicates that an element of home has been lost or perhaps did not exist at all.…”

“…Whilst most research has examined 'home' in relation to those with stable accommodation, some have started to consider how home-making might apply to homelessness. For street homelessness, 'home-making' has been understood in relation to territoriality in which people demarcate their personal spaces in public through the placement of possessions such as blankets on a patch of ground or bench (Rennels & Purnell, 2017), in the make-shift shelters they create (Snow & Mulcahy, 2001) or in 'tent cities' that are found in the USA (Sparks, 2017). This body of research has also drawn attention to the importance of other homeless people in helping (or hindering) feelings of safety and belonging.…”

“…This body of research has also drawn attention to the importance of other homeless people in helping (or hindering) feelings of safety and belonging. For example, Rennels & Purnell (2017) noted the significance of homeless men looking out for one another and sharing information about charitable food services.…”

“…Like ideas of territorial marking by rough sleepers (Rennels & Purnell, 2017), graffiti and acts of vandalism are sometimes used to physically identify symbolic ownership of a space (Robinson, 2009). Residents graffitied the furniture in their bedsits.…”