Our understanding of the “street” as a social space has been greatly influenced by the Chicago School of Sociology. Prevalent in the early 1900s, researchers at the University of Chicago like W. I. Thomas, Ernest Burgess, and Robert Park undertook a unique approach now commonly called urban ethnography. These researchers were interested in documenting the daily activities of people deemed to be transgressive in public spaces. They would watch and record what they saw occurring within groups such as people living in extreme poverty, those who were new immigrants, and/or those involved in gangs.

Among the most influential of the Chicago School researchers was Nels Anderson (1923), whose research on hobos provided early insight into how the street can become a shared space for people without secure housing. His work on hobos, people who would ride the railways in search of work, provides a rich and detailed description of what life was like for these individuals in the early 1900s. We can still see some similarities today, with modern tent encampments serving as a modern version of the hobo jungles. However, much has also changed in the time since Nels Anderson was writing. Before you continue through the material in this section, we encourage you to pause and reflect on the question of whether all people who experience homelessness are street-involved and what “the street” even means. You may write your responses in the space below.

When we write about the street, we are referring to a shared urban landscape made up of marginal spaces that exist outside the mainstream and are guided by a set of social practices. For instance, we might think of a downtown core in a city as being part of a street landscape that has spaces such as emergency shelters, drop-in centres, food banks, and a community health centre. While these services are commonly located in busy areas of a city, they are not often visited by the general public. In this way, we can consider them to be part of the street that have their own cultures and social practices that occur within. As people within these spaces move between them and into other public places, like sidewalks and city parks, a street network develops.

The question of whether all people who experience homelessness are part of this street network (i.e. street-involved) requires that we return to the very first question posed within this book and reconsider what homelessness means. In the Introduction chapter we discussed the Canadian Definition of Homelessness as being a four-part typology in which people can be unsheltered, emergency sheltered, provisionally accommodated, or at-risk of homelessness (Gaetz et al., 2012). This definition is important to return to here because it helps us see that not everyone who experiences homelessness lives in public spaces, accesses emergency shelters, or is part of the urban street landscape. In the next two videos, Dr. Erin Dej and Dr. Bernie Pauly explain further.

Dr. Erin Dej: Are all people who experience homelessness street-involved?

In this video, Dr. Erin Dej argues that not everyone who experiences homelessness is street-involved. She points to the Canadian definition of homelessness as a four-part typology that offers a broader understanding of homelessness, with people who are visibly unsheltered being the tip of the iceberg. Dr. Dej notes that while we need to ensure unsheltered individuals are supported and safe, we must also remember to attend to the full spectrum of experiences and focus on homelessness prevention. This video is 1:50 in length and has closed captions available in English.

Dr. Bill O’Grady: Are all people who experience homelessness street-involved?

In this video Dr. William [Bill] O’Grady argues that to understand whether people who experience homelessness are street-involved, it is helpful to consider the different types of homelessness that exist. He notes that we must think about people who are at-risk of homelessness, couch surfing, and staying in shelters or outside, to understand why some people are street-involved while others are not. Dr. O’Grady explains that when we talk about street-involvement often we are referring to urban homelessness, but that being street-involved looks very different in rural communities. He shares an analysis of the 2014 General Social Survey which found people in rural communities report higher levels of lifetime homelessness than those living in larger cities. Dr. O’Grady concludes that we must consider the types of homelessness and the context to understand street-involvement. This video is 3:57 in length and has closed captions available in English.

Dr. Rebecca Schiff: Homelessness in rural communities

In this video, Dr. Rebecca Schiff argues that rural homelessness is under-recognized in Canada and is a much more significant issue than many people realize. She explains that rates of homelessness are higher in rural communities and that they face additional challenges, such as high costs of energy, heating, and food in addition to housing. Dr. Schiff notes that we need to consider how policy and funding approaches are currently designed toward the bias of urban homelessness, and that it is critical we identify ways to support people’s diverse needs in rural communities, so they do not have to migrate back and forth between rural and urban centres. Dr. Schiff concludes by advocating for prevention and early intervention for youth in rural communities, so they do not experience recurrent episodes of homelessness throughout their lives. This video is 7:10 in length and has closed captions available in English.

Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly: Are all people who experience homelessness street-involved?

In this video, Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly argues that not every person who experiences homelessness is street-involved and that even those who are, tend to move in and out of street-involvement fluidly. She notes that men are more likely to be visible on the streets, whether panhandling or sleeping outside, while women, girls, and families often remain more hidden. This video is 1:22 in length and has closed captions available in English.

Dr. Jeff Karabanow: Are all people who experience homelessness street-involved?

In this video, Dr. Jeff Karabanow explains that street involvement denotes engagement with activities such as panhandling, squeegeeing, and living rough. He notes that a core response to youth homelessness has been to create youth shelters that are distinct from adult-serving ones, but that many young people still remain connected to the street, where they must navigate day-to-day encounters with others. Dr. Karabanow explains that in rural communities there is less street-involvement, as couch surfing and hidden homelessness are more common. He concludes that in recent years a shift towards prevention has occurred in which the emphasis is on keeping people off the streets and out of homelessness. This video is 3:14 in length and has closed captions available in English.

Just as people who experience homelessness may move between geographic locations, they also often have to move around throughout the day as emergency shelters and social services open and close. This kind of movement creates a social geography of the street. One of the authors of this book has conducted research on the social and spatial dimensions of homelessness using time geography mapping to see how young people without secure housing move through the street over a 24–hour period. While it may seem to the general public that people who experience homelessness are sitting on the sidewalk, in the park, or outside of an agency with nowhere to go, this mapping activity actually demonstrates their movements are rather controlled. They must attune their actions to the service agencies they depend upon.

What do you think?

Consider how you spent the past 24–hours and create a mental map of where you went, the times, and the modes of transportation you used. How do you think this activity might look for a young person who is couch–surfing in the suburbs while using services in the downtown core of Toronto? How might this activity look for a person couch–surfing in a rural community?

We encourage you to keep these questions in mind as you watch this brief video created by the Public Visualization Studio. This video was created based on the 24–hour map of “Anna” a real woman (although not her real name) who was experiencing homelessness in Toronto. They created a visual representation of this research as part of the “In the Air Tonight” month-long interactive architecture installation by projecting it on the side of a building in downtown Toronto on a continuous loop. There is no sound in the video, so we invite you to use the quiet time to reflect on how being street-involved requires spatial work and coordination.

Dr. Tyler Frederick: Are all people who experience homelessness street-involved?

In this video, Dr. Tyler Frederick explains that the term street-involved is sometimes used broadly to refer to people experiencing homelessness, but that it is important to remember not everyone who experiences homelessness is involved in street-based activities. He clarifies that more narrowly, street-involvement refers to people who are sleeping rough, living in an encampment or their car, and are involved in a wider social network of other street-involved individuals. Dr. Frederick notes that shelters and drop-in services are often surrounded by a social world where people form relationships, whether positive or risky, that may continue after they are housed. This video is 3:00 in length and has closed captions available in English.

People commonly equate homelessness with living on the street, but the two are not necessarily synonymous. We began this section by tracing research about homelessness in Sociology to the Chicago School and Nels Anderson’s work on hobos in the 1920s. This is important to note because it set the stage for the urban ethnography style of research that followed, in which people were observed living their lives in public spaces. This tradition has continued to the modern day but has also been expanded to allow for broader understandings of homelessness.

We heard from researchers that the Canadian definition of homelessness is important because it provides a conceptualization of homelessness as being a continuum rather than an ‘either / or’ occurrence (Gaetz et al., 2012). We noted that some people, such as those who are unsheltered or emergency sheltered, might be more visible and likely to engage in street culture to meet their needs. Those in rural settings are more removed from the street, as these communities generally lack the centralized infrastructure to create a hub of services. People in these communities may migrate in a cyclical form back and forth between rural and urban settings, in an attempt to improve their economic, housing, and/or social situations.

Just as people move between rural and urban settings, so too do people move on and off the street based on their personal circumstances. We heard that it is not uncommon for people to move fluidly through the street, as they experience different forms of homelessness, and that they may move in and out of services throughout the day. This movement creates a geography of the street that shows how constraining street-involvement can actually be. We concluded this section by discussing some of the economic activities, like panhandling and squeegeeing, that are more common in urban than rural environments and the street cultures that are produced by the people who engage in them.

Podcast: Are all people who experience homelessness street involved? (24:22)

Click the link below to listen to all of the researchers answer the question “Are all people who experience homelessness street involved?” in audio format on our podcast!

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