Work

The New Homelessness Revisited

Year: 2010

Type: review

Abstract: The 'new homelessness' has drawn sustained attention from scholars over the past three decades. Definitional inconsistencies and data limitations rendered early work during this period largely speculative in nature. Thanks to conceptual, theoretical, and methodological progress, however, the research literature now provides a fuller understanding of homelessness. Contributions by sociologists and other social scientists since the mid-1990s differentiate among types of homelessness, provide credible demographic estimates, and show how being homeless affects a person's life chances and coping strategies. Agreement also exists about the main macro- and micro-level causes of homelessness. Active lines of inquiry examine public, media, and governmental responses to the problem as well as homeless people's efforts to mobilize on their own behalf. Despite the obstacles faced when studying a stigmatized population marked by high turnover and weak anchors to place, recent investigations have significantly influenced homelessness policy. A greater emphasis on prevention should further strengthen the research-policy nexus.

Source: Annual Review of Sociology

DOI: 10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115940

Authors: Barrett A. Lee, Kimberly A. Tyler, James D. Wright

Institutions: Pennsylvania State University, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Central Florida

Language: English

Topic: Homelessness and Social Issues

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, No poverty

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development