The role of business improvement districts in criminalizing homelessness reflects a tension between private interests and public space, Rob Waters writes.
With more Americans becoming homeless every year, the question of how cities should respond to the crisis has grown increasingly urgent. In Next City, Rob Waters unpacks the debate between homeless advocates and business improvement districts over policing and criminalization—a conflict that he says is truly about "the degree of influence that private interests should exercise over the management of public space."
"Today's conflicts between homeless activists and BIDs have their roots in 'slum clearance' efforts of the 1950s and 1960s that razed huge chunks of city neighborhoods and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents, mostly low-income people of color," Waters writes.
BIDs operate in cities around the country, and are designed to allow property owners to collectively pay into area improvements beyond those provided by local government. But on top of street cleaning and marketing campaigns, BIDs have gained a reputation among critics as the "foot soldiers of gentrification" for deploying "private armies" that funnel homeless residents into the legal system. Following instances of harassment, violence, and seizure of property, Waters reports, a study from UC Berkeley suggested that BIDs regularly "exclude homeless people from public spaces in their districts through policy advocacy and policing practices."
Waters delves further into BID activities and speaks to BID representatives about their attempts to attract visitors and raise property values. He also notes a different approach taken by one Community Benefit District in San Francisco: providing tenant-landlord mediation to prevent eviction (a key driver of homelessness) and installing public toilets and needle disposal to improve street cleanliness and public health.
FULL STORY: No Place Left to Go: Business Districts Keep Homeless Populations on the Move
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Maine Approves Rent Relief Program
Legislators hope the assistance program will help struggling low-income households avoid eviction.
How Transit Architecture Impacts Real and Perceived Safety
More than a third of Americans believe major transit systems are too unsafe to ride. The built environment can change that.
New York Passes Housing Package Focused on New Development and Adaptive Reuse
The FY 2025 budget includes a new tax incentive, funding for affordable housing on state land, and support for adaptive reuse and ADUs.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.