Description
Book SynopsisCreative solutions for global cities addressing their urgent homeless crises. This book takes on perhaps the most formidable issue facing metropolitan areas today: the large numbers of people experiencing homelessness within cities. Four dedicated experts with first-hand experience profile ten citiesBogota, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Houston, Nashville, New York City, Baltimore, Edmonton, Paris, and Athensto explore ideas, strategies, successes, and failures. Together they bring an array of government, nonprofit, and academic perspectives to offer a truly global perspective. The authors answer essential questions about the nature and causes of homelessness and analyze how cities have used innovation and local political coordination to address this pervasive problem. Ten Global Cities will be an invaluable resource not only for students of policy and social work but for municipal, regional, and national policymakers; nonprofit service providers; community advocates and activists; and all citizens who want to collaborate for real change. These authors argue that homelessness is not an insurmountable social condition, and their examples show that cities and individuals working in coordination can lead the charge for better outcomes.
Trade Review"The book is a valuable resource for those interested in how cities have succeeded in tackling some of the causes and consequences of homelessness. . . . It offers a refreshing hands-on contribution that not only identifies the problems around homelessness but, crucially, provides specific examples and evidence from many different settings about what can be done to overcome it." * LSE Review of Books *
"Its real-world examples provide digestible and valuable information to the public—especially to advocates who are beginning a vocation in the field. . . . The book demonstrates that, thanks to the passion and determination of homeless-service system actors, innovative approaches in outreach and housing-first models have emerged and been successful." * Stanford Social Innovation Review *
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Can Cities Solve Global Homelessness?
1. The Transformation of Homeless Services
2. Engaging People on the Streets
3. Sheltering Options That Work
4. Developing an Affordable Housing Strategy
5. Supportive Housing to Target Complex Needs
6. Prevention That Works
7. Systems-Level Thinking
8. Engaging the Community
9. Understanding the Homeless System: Street Counts, By-Name Lists, Agency Databases, and Basic Research
10. Managing for Results: Performance Management and Modeling
11. Managing in Emergencies
Conclusion: Lessons for Other Cities—It Can Be Done
Appendix
Notes
References
Index
