Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hernandez, Sarah

Keywords

Sarasota, Florida, Homelessness, Urban, Criminalization, Social Control

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

The criminalization of houselessness has been studied previously in the form of laws and regulations structurally related to urban processes of capital accumulation, but little attention has been paid to the ways in which such structural changes affect houseless people on an everyday basis. In this study, I attempt to address this gap by examining how houseless people's agency is affected by criminalizing forces in Sarasota, Florida. I interviewed 19 houseless people who spend time in downtown Sarasota, in addition to 3 political actors situated in Sarasota's houseless debate. I asked my houseless interviewees how they interacted with the police and the court systems, how they navigate the geography of Sarasota, and how they manage their daily lives. I found that houselessness was criminalized by the nature of recent local ordinances, the partnership between the city government and its private systems of caregiving, and individual actions taken by downtown residents and business owners. Analysis of my results indicate that the criminalization of houselessness led to three outcomes: a social control of the poor which mirrors Foucault's theory of modern punitivism, a coercive geography based on social class, and the creation of barriers to upward mobility. In order to combat criminalization, I recommend that key laws be repealed and greater measures of accountability be established within city government and by coalitions of houseless people and their allies.

Download

Share

COinS