Abstract
This chapter considers the relationships between social inequality and homelessness. The first section describes how academic research has increasingly associated homelessness with social inequality. The second section examines the development of policy responses towards homelessness, arguing that policy has become focused on homeless people themselves, rather than attempting to address the inequalities associated with homelessness. The chapter then discusses two relatively recent policy trends in more detail, the rise of preventative services and an increasing use of surveillant responses to homelessness. The chapter concludes by arguing that there is strong evidence that homelessness is both associated with wider social inequality, constitutes a unique state of social inequality in itself and that some current policy responses to homelessness may deepen the social inequality experienced by homeless people.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Housing and Inequality |
Editors | Isobel Anderson, Duncan Sim |
Place of Publication | London |
Publisher | Chartered Institute of Housing |
Pages | 187-204 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781905018871 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |