The Involvement of Business Elites in the Management of Homelessness

Towards a Privatization of Service Provision for Homeless People

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6404743
AutoresAntonin Margier (0000-0002-2506-8250, Université de Rennes 2, Rennes, France, autor de correspondencia)
Año2023
Volumen59
Número3
Páginas668-691
Fecha de publicación2023-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaUrban Affairs Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1078-0874 • E-ISSN: 1552-8332
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/10780874211073882
OpenAlexW4206518934
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas39

Although the influence of local urban elites on urban planning is well established in urban studies and geography, the ways in which business and property owners take part in the management of homelessness has received far less attention. This article focuses on Portland (OR) in the United States as a means of understanding the motivations that underlie the role of the private sector and its impact on public policies. To this end, I focus on the support by Portland's downtown Business Improvement District of homeless outreach programs, and on the funding of two homeless shelters by business elites / philanthropists. I argue that although public authorities have different views on the actions to be taken to end homelessness, business elites often manage to bring initially-reluctant public authorities to support their projects in what might be termed a forced-march cooperation. I also highlight the versatility of the private sector and business elites’ participation in homelessness management, given that the outreach programs they support and the homeless facilities they fund provide services for the homeless while simultaneously removing them from visible public space. In this sense, the involvement of business and property owners is also a way for them to protect their own interests

Business · Downtown · Economic growth · Economics · Outreach · Political science · Public relations · Service (business · Homelessness and Social Issues · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Public Administration · Urban Planning and Governance · Marketing