Comment from arnold lame
Time: August 1, 2007, 3:17 am

What a collection!

Comment from Liam
Time: August 1, 2007, 5:21 am

I especially like the Inflatable idea..very clever

Comment from Tractortyre
Time: August 1, 2007, 6:02 am

Although I find the idea nice to help homeless people, I don’ t think the idea with the convertible furniture is very good. It encourages homeless guys to stay there all the time, thus not allowing park visitors to have a rest. On the other side it would also cause homeless to fight each other for the good place as it already happens in underground stations and similar places.
Urban shell would be a much better help.

Comment from daniesza
Time: August 1, 2007, 6:41 am

there is such a strange sense that your damned if you do and your damned if you don’t about this whole notion of clever design to palliate the homeless situation.
i wonder if our society is just giving up and accepting the homeless or really trying to resolve the situation. i suppose until we are more evolved as a human race, we have to find creative patchwork solutions to the crisis of human dignity.
art serving life is a damn good way to tackle it though.

Comment from Liam
Time: August 1, 2007, 7:21 am

@ daniesza

you’ve got a point, on second thoughts some of these ideas seem a little poncy to me, but at the same time they are helping people who aren’t being helped. Yeah it would be great to get the money and the tools to really help them back where they want to be, but sometimes some homeless people don’t want to be back in normal society and don’t want to be helped…personally speaking if i was homeless i would welcome all these efforts, then again, I’m saying this because im not homeless…

Comment from susan
Time: August 1, 2007, 8:01 am

very nice solutions to homeless problems…where can we get this furniture?? Do you think the homeless would take advantage of such chic-eria??? They seem to go for the more squalid side of things….

Susan in Italy

Comment from hockpooh
Time: August 1, 2007, 10:30 am

I think we should just grind them up and feed them to our cats. I also think that we should take the gangs on the streets, in our prisons, and ALL the hip hop music people, give them bigger guns and drop the off in Iraq with no way back.

No more homeless, No more rap music, No more fear of walking down the streets, No more crack heads, No more gangs.

Oh, least I forget the most important thing. Take ALL the jews & half Jews & 1/4 jews, put them on a big rocket and shoot them into space far far away.

Comment from jenn
Time: August 1, 2007, 10:35 am

i dont care what everyone else thinks…i think this stuff is a great idea. it gives people with out a home a chance to live better knowing that they tried everything else. i think these items should be given to everyone that doesnt have a home to help them all.

Comment from Liam
Time: August 1, 2007, 10:49 am

@ hockpooh

I’m sorry you lost me on, “…feed them to our cats…”

Go back to school

Comment from hockpooh
Time: August 1, 2007, 11:18 am

I was just having some fun. I used to be homeless and have helped others. The really funny part is that one of my cats is named Liam. I’m not kidding this time, he really is named that.

Comment from hockpooh
Time: August 1, 2007, 11:22 am

What the homeless need more than anything is hope. We are ALL loosing hope. The way things have been going the future is a hard dark place.

Comment from WebUrbanist
Time: August 1, 2007, 12:11 pm

@TractoTyre: You’re probably right - as interesting as the convertible shelters are, the Shell concept might be more useful.

@Daniesza: Agreed. The problem is large and difficult to solve with one-off clever solutions. Hopefully, though, these can provide a stop-gap set of answers and, being widely publicized as art, they can also raise awareness.

@Liam: Its seems intuitively true that you’re never going to invite everyone to live in normal housing conditions, so giving people an alternative more viable and safe just makes sense.

@Susan: Most of these were singular art pieces as demonstrations, though if you got your local city council engaded in these ideas, architects and other designers would likely be more than happy to produce them in conjunction with an interested urban area.

@Hockpooh: For now your comment can remain in place because of the later retraction - it is clearly satirical. Still, please keep that to a minimum.

@Jenn: You hit the bottom line on the nose: at the end of the day there will be homeless no matter how many social welfare programs, private or public, are in place. Therefore society needs ways to provide space and resources for those that don’t fit in the typical mode of home ownners and renters.

Comment from asdf
Time: August 1, 2007, 1:31 pm

I think you’ve missed one major point. Homeless people are plagued by addiction problems and mental illness.

When I worked in a downtown office building, there were public restrooms literally 1 block away. Many of the homeless preferred to squat and use the alleyway though, simply because it was easier & they didn’t care about the huge health hazard they were creating. They were high on meth or crack or maybe just plain crazy.

If you go to the trouble of installing shelters, it’s only a matter of time before they are destroyed by the people who are supposed to use and appreciate them. Unfortunate, but it’s reality. Spend the money elsewhere.

Comment from wasteofmoney
Time: August 1, 2007, 1:51 pm

this is really not that smart after all.. yes it seems compassionate but not very practical. i have lived my entire life in large urban cities and to this day step out the front door of my loft apartment which is situated over a downtown brokerage firm in the middle of a city block and am asked for money. sometimes from the same person multiple times in a week even though like i told them last time i do not carry cash and unless they are a living, walking ATM theres nothing i can do for them. they don’t want food. if a bum ever asked me for food i would gladly give them my leftovers or offer to buy them something, but trust me when a homeless person asks you for money and says “its for food” offer them food instead of coins and see what happens. its a front. they want a 22 and crack rock and you would be naive to think otherwise. i have the privilege of walking to most places i need to go and on several occasions just to gain perspective, i have been returning from a bar late at night (prime time for bums to prey on drunk people) and have asked what that homeless person does with their time, where they sleep, what their plans are for the future, if they ever worked..? you get the point. the fact of the matter is every bum i have ever spoken with at length has their ends taken care of. they are content with what they do and their lifestyle. most have had a job, some currently do. one guy i see all the time works in a deli kitchen cleaning. they give him a meal every day, then after that he stands around on the corner asks for money (and sure enough people give it to him, mostly tourists because they don’t know anything about him) then he usually goes to a local dive bar that even i frequent drinks a few beers and says he sleeps in an abandoned building that has running water- and i know exactly the one hes talking about.. wow. heres the thing: he has told me he has no desire to change his lifestyle, he thinks it great that people give him money because hes not wearing a nice clean shirt and “think” he is homeless, he says he gets paid under the table at work and that he used to do construction for the city, got “injured” on the job and that they send him workers comp every month and in a few years can retire completely relying on the city. he has two children who live in the suburbs in their 30s and lead normal lives and he occasionally stays with his ex-wife. heres another thing to think about. ever see a bum sleeping in the park in the middle of broad daylight? amazing- i cant sleep with the noise of that much traffic and people walking around. they can because heroin will facilitate the ability to sleep where you feel like, even if its propped up against a dumpster or tree where people are walking their dogs and college kids and sunbathing and throwing around frisbees. some homeless don’t need a house, they need to be in the looney-bin. seriously, some are mentally disabled and no inflatable house will fix that. as for this ‘urban shell’- these things are already in widespread use all over the us, they’re called shopping carts. at the end of the day i don’t care or even mind that bums want money for alcohol or drugs, we all do and until pigs fly i’ll be damned if i’m going to freely give up my drug and alcohol money to someone who looks like they need a shower. whatever i could go on forever..

Comment from wasteofmoney
Time: August 1, 2007, 1:59 pm

oh yea.. i never see bums out asking for money when its raining so that alone implies the ability to find a shelter, think about it.

Comment from ching
Time: August 1, 2007, 5:05 pm

I hear that

Comment from taylor
Time: August 1, 2007, 5:57 pm

they are homeless for a reason, they will just squander whatever they are given. It is not taxpayers responsibility to take care of the irresponsible. People need to do that themselves from their own means. In other words, people should help the homeless, not the government.

Comment from AhAloDark
Time: August 1, 2007, 8:01 pm

I recently had a homeless man living outside the building I manage in NYC. He is of East Indian extraction, but grew up in Queens; so, the US is his home. Like many of the homeless, he is ill, schizophrenic to be specific. Many of the homeless are homeless because following a supreme court ruling in the 80’s lots of mentally ill souls were turned out onto the streets from pschiatric hospitals. Surely, many patients were as overjoyed as possible, though most all were genuinely ill souls. Many simply ended in the prison system, surely many died sooner than later. But, many became tenants of the streets and subways.

Comment from Bob Stevens
Time: August 1, 2007, 10:47 pm

Why is it the responsibility of the building to provide shelter for homeless? Who likes to see some crazy old stinky bum sleeping on the steps of a building? Homeless people should go get a job and stop being lazy. Or maybe whoever posted the original article should open up their house to these homeless people. Maybe that will solve the problem. Maybe they could sleep in your bed. Eat your food. Sleep with your wife. That is if you are really concerned about them.

Comment from 1idea
Time: August 1, 2007, 11:03 pm

I say we round them up and put them to work digging ditches for no pay. Instead we would provide them with prison-style homes, meals included. The work that they’d provide would ideally pay for the project, and then some, and keep them off the park benches. Like wasteofmoney said, most of the homeless have psychological problems which affect their ability to maintain a job or “normal” lifestyle (normal hours, normal diet, daily hygiene). This regulated commune for bums might help with developing a routine and learning to become a productive member of society. It would be sort of a homeless work and rehabilitation center, with gaurds.

Comment from Lola
Time: August 2, 2007, 2:07 am

Hmm. Nice designs; too bad they’re wasted on the homeless. Should be hidden in ditches, they should.

Comment from Dobbs_Heal
Time: August 2, 2007, 7:16 am

This is a foolish waste of time and even counter-productive, like aid to Africa.

I’m not saying the homeless don’t need or want help, but things like this don’t give them the aid they actually need. Most of the homeless who want help would prefer investment: a job, and apartment, and some clean clothes (and a few friends too). They don’t want a city that is easier to be homeless in, they want a home.

Things like this serve only to validate the homeless way of life as a legitimate lifestyle, a place people choose to be. Anybody that chooses to freeload and use resources without paying for them or giving back is a person I do not want to support. We should be focusing our charitable energy towards helping the homeless get off the street and stay off the street. They need jobs, not shelter.

Comment from WebUrbanist
Time: August 2, 2007, 2:15 pm

Amazing variety of responses - this is an issue that people clearly feel passionate about one way or another.

That being said, some of the arguments seem somewhat one-sided. It clearly isn’t the case that all homeless wish to remain homeless, nor is the opposite true: that all homeless wish to lead ‘normal’ lives in permanent residences. Many homeless people can not lead normal lives due to mental illness or other factors - so what is to be done?

The value of these artists’ work, it would seem, lies precisely in raising these issues for discussion. Should nomadic and officially unsanctioned dwelling be permitted? Should it be subsidized by the government? Paid for by private individuals? Are fundamental and systematic changes needed? If so, are designs like these a solution, or merely a catalyst - a first step toward positive change?

Comment from Jeremy
Time: August 6, 2007, 10:52 am

Wrong wrong wrong. Helping make life on the street easier won’t get these people off the street. How can you even think that? Stop supporting their lifestyle, start supporting your local shelter and job shop. Don’t give them your spare change, don’t buy them a meal, get them help. Tell them you don’t want to see them on the street, you want to see them with a job. These ideas are very nice, but will only make the problem of homelessness so much worse. All these types of things do is make it easier to justify NOT helping them. You can say to yourself, “well I don’t have to help them anymore because now they can sleep in a custom made bench bed” How stupid is that? They need to learn that this is not acceptable, they need to rejoin society, or get out. Tough love people, that’s the only way to go.

Comment from judi
Time: August 6, 2007, 7:47 pm

I don’t think we should help the homeless in trashing our streets with moving homes;that is so tacky! that’s like living with people around you that live in plywood shacks. You gotta work your ass off to have stablity. And if your crazy you should’nt be on the streets!! Damn where I live the Niggers got it made here. they chose to live in their plywood homes have alot of Nig-rats and live off our state funds. Now I don’t feel sorry for anyone whom puts theirself in that situation. And people who do work can’t even get alittle help around here!!!! Yes I know what you are thinking and I’m planning on moving hopefully to a place hopefully that won’t have too many niggers and that dont mean you gotta be black to be a nigger because there are all kinds.

Comment from WebUrbanist
Time: August 11, 2007, 8:22 pm

This is a difficult issue, which we addressed further in the next post - clearly something that raises strong opinions on all sides!

Comment from Anonymous
Time: August 14, 2007, 4:55 pm

I’ve always worked when I was homeless. On and off. Sometimes I teach English to people who want to learn the language. If they don’t have money, they bring me a dish of rice and beans. The women are all called Maria and the men are all called Jose. I don’t ask where they are from. I’m just grateful for the food. Sometimes I give classes at the bus stop and sometimes in the park. Frankly I like it better if they don’t give me any money because if someone mugs me and finds money, it will never end. I have to go. I’m on a public computer and there’s only one minute left. Talk to you
another time.

Comment from mnkyfk
Time: August 22, 2007, 11:12 am

“Helping the homeless means more than handing out food or coins on the street. The urban landscape of most major cities is unfriendly to the homeless population. Urban centers discourage homeless people from sleeping public spaces - without necessarily providing alternatives.” –WebUrbanist.com

First off, there ARE plenty of alternatives to being homeless. They are called jobs. Keeping a roof over your head/holding down a job isn’t always easy. That’s life. There is no reason for cities to make it easier to be homeless. It should be made as difficult as possible to be homeless and force these people to change their lives. (Self gratifying) Projects such as this only perpetuate the ever growing problem.

Comment from WebUrbanist
Time: August 22, 2007, 12:33 pm

We would greatly encourage those who disagree with aspects of this post to read the follow-up one. Also, it is an (apparently) common misconception that all (or even most) homeless people could hold down jobs and lead normal lives. Many were displaced decades ago when our mental health care system stopped taking care of members of society who could not function normally due to debilitating mental illnesses. Creative homeless shelters may or may not be the answer, but ‘forcing’ them to get ‘off the street’ is also not a solution for most who are homeless. We strongly recommend that readers who are still unsure of this do further research into the causes of homelessness as well as the mental illnesses suffered by large portions of the homeless population.

Comment from masterfoo
Time: August 23, 2007, 3:43 pm

1idea: right on!
It seems an ideal solution to provide those who are incabable of providing for themselves by normal means a more socially acceptable alternative than bumming and sleeping on streets. if we had something like a voluntary prison, where you can come and go as you like, they put you to work, they feed and clothe you, tell you when to eat, when to sleep, when to work… gets the crazies out of harms way…
i guess the biggest problem is what do you do about the drugs and alcohol - let them have it if they can get it?

Comment from Su
Time: August 24, 2007, 11:26 am

People who are homeless need a home. Yes - even if they are able to work and just refuse. There are fewer of those than people who genuinely have mental health or physical disabilities, or have been subject to downsizing or a failing economy. If the problem is employment/economy, those folks want to work and if they have a solid place to live they can get retrained if necessary and look for work after having a good night’s sleep and a shower. If there is a disability of any sort, they need to be safe, then get the help they need and a job may follow. and finally - for those who want to live off the system - shame on them, but painting those in genuine need with that brush is a dis-service to being human.

As for these designs….. maybe as a stop gap - a way to make life easier in the time it takes to get someone into housing and then, take it back and offer it to the next client… but surely, although these make being homeless easier…. the truth is being homeless isn’t easy. While these ideas and designs are clever and thought provoking, I worry that if items such as these were offered on a huge scale, then too many folks may beleive that being homeless is OK.

Comment from Wrightsfd
Time: September 3, 2007, 1:53 pm

I think a problem here is that you are all confusing ‘homeless’ and ‘bums.’ There are many people in America that are homeless but that are trying to better themselves and there are limited services that help them back on their feet. Many of these homeless are women and children. Bums on the other hand are the ones we all think of as the dirty urine smelling men sleeping in the street.

I support helping the homeless, but a bum does not want or can’t accept the support programs that are out there. True many of these are in urban centers and they are frequently overcrowded but if someone wants to change they can get help.

It is our duty as a civilized society to help the ones that want our help, that is one of the definitions of the word civilized, that the society as a whole is not just about the individual, that the individual has a responsibility to the society. I think however that by giving spare change/cigarettes to a bum you are actually defeating the support systems that have been set up by the government and private enterprise.

The ideas above are interesting and they do start a dialogue to the problem, but there always have been, and always will be homeless people and bums in the world. Until the soylent green factories are finished at least.

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Comment from Ivor Biggun
Time: November 16, 2007, 9:20 am

How cruel this entire idea is!! This reminds me of the so-called homeless advocates creating a video on “dumpster diving” or trying to raise money for shopping carts for the homeless. Either institutionalize those who are truly mentally ill or motivate them to get jobs. Those are the only two honorable alternatives.

Comment from TJK
Time: November 16, 2007, 9:33 am

The root of the problem is that we as a country will support other homeless in other countries with money and food and supplies but when it comes to our own, we let them go and ignore them. If we would help these people, at least the ones willing to help themselves, with a boost or a fresh start of some sort, we wouldn’t have such a homeless problem in America.

Comment from marshoutlaw
Time: November 16, 2007, 9:47 am

You say “Regardless of your view of street dwellers”…do you mean to say some people are actually against providing shelter to the homeless….heartless

Comment from shortsorceress
Time: November 16, 2007, 10:02 am

These shelters are used for more than just housing the homeless. Take a look at the shelters that Global Village Shelters or the Mad Housers put up. While the inflatable shelters may not be practical in many situations, the more permanent shelters by these groups have helped people worldwide that have been displaced by natural disasters. Organizations such as these are trying to improve the situations of those who are capable of living on their own and perhaps giving them a shot at getting their life on track.

Comment from bumchow
Time: November 16, 2007, 10:22 am

I like the catfood idea, or maybe use them as an alternative fuel source, instead of burning dead dinosaurs. Maybe we couldstack them up and build a higher wall between us and Mexico. If all you self righteous trust fund babies REALLY want to help the homeless so bad, let them stay in your f**cking guest room for awhile. But in actuallity its more like… ooooooohhhhh help the homeless stay on the streets, but not in my neighborhood, and definitely not in my house! I’m sorry people, but if you dip a dog turd in powdered suger its still not a doughnut. Get them off the streets, don’t give them more reason to be there.

Comment from shadedmagus
Time: November 16, 2007, 10:30 am

I think the best solution, which the US has decided is not viable, is to round up the homeless and determine which are able to work and which are not. Of the ones that aren’t, those that are mentally or physically disabled, find a place for them…like maybe reopen mental hospitals?

For the ones that are able to work, develop temporary housing and give them what they need to get back on their feet.

We’re not lacking in the ability or the finances to do these things–what we’re lacking in is compassion. I would pay my taxes with a smile if I thought the funds were doing something worthwhile, like actually benefitting regular people.

Comment from Dave Nofmeister
Time: November 16, 2007, 10:39 am

Cool designs for sure.

I think however that some of this will never fly, because, like the furniture, cities do try to keep homeless out of the parks. I think they deliberately try to hide the homeless, so they will not ever use the customized furniture to help them.

Comment from Solis
Time: November 16, 2007, 11:42 am

I’m a web designer, multimedia developer, former IT Director and network administrator who was recently laid off from work. My boss was also my landlord and when I was laid off, I was kicked out of my apartment. I recently created a handsome flash website for a commercial mortgage lender in my area, and because he has been dodging paying me for the past six weeks, I had to give up my car. I have no family to help me out, so I now find myself homeless. I am staying at a local shelter at night, typing this message on my laptop at the local public library.

Not all homeless people are scum, addicts, mentally ill, etc. as many of you surmise. I am educated, intelligent & thoughtful, but I have just been presented with a streak of bad luck. I have never, nor would I panhandle. I don’t want to be in this situation, but sometimes things happen that are beyond one’s control.

I will claw my way back up in life, and I will be a better and stronger person for it. In the meantime, I have the opportunity to lend a hand to those of my brothers & sisters who are less fortunate that I am by giving them tips on how to search for work online, or just being there to listen to them while offering them a modicum of hope.

A little hope and friendship can go a long way.

Comment from Anton
Time: November 16, 2007, 11:49 am

I think the biggest problem is mental illness. In the USA anybody can find a job.
I was talking to a lady who helps homeless people get assistance. I asked her “Are most of these homeless people crazy?”. She said, “No, they are normal people like you and I. Some of them even have money or own land. They just chose to live on the street.” I just stared at her, thinking to myself, ‘So… CRAZY!?’.

Comment from matty
Time: November 16, 2007, 12:46 pm

Like some of the more rational responses said in here, homeless people tend to want to be that way. They like not having to pay taxes and have the lack of daily structure. Some even think they are beating the system by not being apart of the machine. These solutions would only attract more homeless to said areas. Hardly a solution in my books.

I have done some research on the topic, and it would appear there will always be homeless. For some its not a choice, but for most its something they want. Its almost ethnocentric of us to think of solutions or possible fixes. Yes, it is hard to see so many out in the streets, but thats what they want.

Comment from Susanna
Time: November 16, 2007, 1:53 pm

I didn’t find Hockpooh’s comment “clearly satirical” at all and want it removed.

Comment from Grigori
Time: November 16, 2007, 2:49 pm

In San Francisco we have a HUGE homeless problem. It is so bad even the liberals are thinking about carting them all off somewhere. I have known several homeless people and they all had drug/alcohol problems or mental problems. The mental cases wouldn’t take their meds. They don’t have a structured environment so meds would get stolen or sold. I have asked several homeless guys why they wouldn’t go to shelters. Shelters have rules, they said! Curfew, lights out, no fighting or arguing or drugs and alcohol. The streets have freedom to do all of the above.

We are getting some “harm reduction” houses where people are free to drink or use drugs while living in a building with other homeless. I think this is the solution. Get them off the streets first and then deal with their problems.

Comment from Ironic
Time: November 16, 2007, 4:09 pm

Ironic that so many comments slam the homeless, when a report out only a couple of days ago calculates that up to 25% are veterans.

Comment from Deb Prothero
Time: November 19, 2007, 8:54 pm

People who experience homelessness are still human beings, often with a combination of problems. I work in a different type of shelter (less like a prison, more like a home) http://www.unityproject.ca . I’ve just been hired as a fundraiser to help stabilize the funding. The people who have stayed at the shelter over the last month are dealing with many issues but a home is what they want most. The degree of poverty is what prevents someone from keeping a home. When someone is paying up to 50% of their income for rent, they are at serious risk of becoming homeless. The stress from the poverty contributes to the other problems and life becomes a spiral downward for some.

A living wage, harm reduction strategies for the addicted, drug rehabilitation for those who are ready and a clear strategy for dealing with mental illness will be cheaper than the current situation where our tax dollars are spent keeping shelters open, prisons full, police forces dealing with mental illness issues more than justice issues, etc.

Glad that someone mentioned the study about 25% of the homeless being veterans. The lack of ability for our society to deal with post traumatic stress disorders, depression and other mental illnesses is a pathetic strike on our character as the First World.

Comment from ken
Time: November 20, 2007, 11:35 am

Perhaps we need to go further and create homeless furniture in our own homes so people can camp out both inside and outside. Schools could be used as well as the parks and public places, and this would help educate the kids. Movie and live theaters could incorporate homeless stations on stage, and hospitals could become homeless hostels.

Comment from 70311
Time: November 21, 2007, 12:18 am

This is a difficult issue, which we addressed further in the next post - clearly something that raises strong opinions on all sides!

Comment from Ax Nasty [Marztek]
Time: December 4, 2007, 6:12 pm

Most people think that the homeless are allmost all mentally disturbed or addicted to drugs. They couldn’t be more wrong. The thing is, the sane, drug-free segment of the homeless population are not as visible. It’s wrong to assume that all homeless people sleep on benches or bum on the street. Many live in cars, for example, and come from all walks of life. The sane, intelligent people know how to stay invisible. What we need to do is eliminate the stigma attatched to homelessness, and forget the notion that “normal people live in houses, everyone should live in a house”. People should be able to make a real choice between house and non-house living. The Nuclear Family is a lie. There is no one, perfect lifestyle for everyone. Some want houses, some want something else. We need to open our minds and our options.

Comment from Nei
Time: March 9, 2008, 7:19 pm

Ax Nasty, that’s BS. I know a coworker who wound up homeless. No one wants to be such, its a stupid way of life. If you want to deal with it, making pretty adbuster-esque artistic statements isn’t the issue, it’s ensuring affordable real housing and jobs that can support self-sufficiency for some, and locking up others in drug rehab or psychiatric treatment centers.

It’s not fun sleeping in an unheated rv in the middle of winter, or not being able to take showers without paying some dingy YMCA.