Doctoral Dissertation Research: Alternative Forms of Regulated Social Provisioning in American Cities

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

University of Michigan doctoral candidate Jeff Albanese, advised by Dr. Damani Partridge, will undertake research on alternative forms of regulated social provisioning in times of economic hardship. Because of diminishing resources for public services, self-managed homeless encampments in cities across the United States are increasingly seeking legal approval. His research will focus on two such self-managed homeless encampments in Oregon, one of which has obtained such approval and the other of which has not. Mr. Albanese's research addresses two overarching questions: 1) How do self-managed homeless encampments emerge and even persist despite urban development strategies, regulatory practices, and social service approaches that may not support their incorporation into the urban landscape? 2) How does the pursuit and achievement of legal recognition affect the social organization, material infrastructure, and long-term resiliency of the homeless encampments themselves? To answer these questions, the researcher will employ a combination of ethnographic methods, including: observation of encampment meetings and local government proceedings; participant-observation at encampment building and maintenance projects; semi-structured interviews with encampment residents, community members, and public officials; both researcher and resident mappings of encampments; and archival investigations. This research is important because it will extend scientific understanding of the effects of contemporary urban law and governance practices on social provisioning by highlighting the co-existence of multiple orders of jurisdiction (including federal, municipal, and administrative). Recent scholarship has highlighted the exclusionary effects of emergent urban development strategies as diverse cities adopt similar practices to regulate behavior in public space. By focusing instead on the paradoxical proliferation of organized and regulated homeless encampments, and the variety of ways that legal recognition might potentially be conferred, this research expands understanding of the relationship between urban law and marginalized groups. Supporting this research also contributes to the education of a graduate student.