We at Felix aren’t afraid to admit that while our city is spectacular, there’s always room for improvement. In our London vs. series, we’re going to take a look at what we do better and worse at in the city stakes, and see just where London can improve. This week, we’re looking at homelessness and how London is hoping to help.
Homelessness is impossible to ignore and yet so easy to at the same time. We’ve all of us walked past a homeless person as if they were yet another nameless face on their way to work. It’s not an unnatural reaction: other people’s suffering should make us uneasy. We should not want to watch. But natural doesn’t make it okay.
Luckily, London is taking steps and making big plans to help people without homes. Homelessness in London is on the rise and the government has finally begun to notice. The Mayor of London has decided to make it a priority for the city, looking to create a £50 million fund to build move-on housing.
Khan’s plan will address the time-old issue facing many people without accommodation. To be part of society – to have a bank account, to have a job – you need an address; preferably one without loaded connotations. Move-on housing will help people get from hostels and temporary accommodation into their own place, giving them that much-needed address. Further projects aimed particularly at women on the streets and task forces looking at the most entrenched homeless are all part of this new initiative.
Though it’s on the rise here, London is by no means the worst city when it comes to global homelessness. Our numbers are high, but measures like Khan’s are what really set us apart. Take a look at the USA, whose cities litter the top ten worst when it comes to homelessness. New York City is top, with homeless numbers at the highest since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Lack of housing initiatives such as move-on housing are a huge issue for NYC rough sleepers. On top of this, anti-homeless legislation in the US is becoming more about criminalising rather than helping those without homes. San Francisco passed a law in 2010 making it illegal to sit or lie down on a pavement. New York tried to make homeless people prove they didn’t have family to stay with, which thankfully didn’t pass. With abuse and relationship breakdown key causes of homelessness, such legislation is ignorant and cruel. Philadelphia put a citywide ban on giving food to the homeless, while Orlando threatened fines and jail time to charities that fed too many homeless in one day. The efforts cities go to trying to cover up the problem instead of solving it is mind boggling.
One such effort comes in the form of hostile architecture. These are designs built to keep people away, and they’re often sinisterly subtle. The US has used them for years, but London has begun sneaking them in too, without people realising. Take armrests for example: noticed the benches divided into seats by armrests? These aren’t for your comfort. They’re there to ensure homeless people can’t lie across the furniture to sleep.
Some hostile architecture is more obvious. Anti-homeless spikes have been popping up in recent years, despite campaigns against. These are placed by companies outside their buildings or in alcoves to prevent anyone taking shelter – even those temporarily trying to hide from rain as they walk by. If anything, these spikes have brought their businesses more attention than before. Campaigners turned some spikes into a mattress and mini-library, encouraging people to sleep there more than before.
The similarity between these spikes and those placed on buildings to discourage pigeons is noticeable. The message is clear: ‘vermin’ aren’t welcome. It’s just another way of dehumanising real people who need help, encouraging an us versus them mindset.
None of us want homelessness. It makes cities look bad, it will continue to be connected with crime and it’s an unpleasant part of life. Eradicating homelessness is the best foot forward, whether you think we should help or hinder rough sleepers. Only one of those options, however, solves the other by being solved itself. US cities prove that combating homelessness needs a kind touch because at the end of the day, having to look at it is a damn sight easier than having to live with it.
If you see someone sleeping rough in London, please speak to Streetlink. It will help spread the word of emergency shelter to those that need it and may save lives.
The post London Vs. New York City: Homelessness appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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