Homeless and their Impact on Public Space

Open Access

Year : 2023 | Volume :8 | Issue : 1 | Page : 12-20
By

Shraddha Sharma

Debashis Sanyal

  1. Student School of Planning and Architecture Madhya Pradesh India
  2. Associate Professor Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology Chhattisgarh India

Abstract

The people lacking an address are homeless and are considered ‘unmapped’. They have no records in the National Census or the City’s demographics, and hence there is a critical need to map their existence. This paper attempts to record their movement pattern and map out the experiences and issues faced by them. As per the Census of India 2011, 0.15% (1.77 million) of India’s total population is homeless. It means that all the open spaces left out on the built spaces are homes to these people. Mapping their movement means understanding their experiences and studying public spaces; being the only left out space for these people will tell us a lot about the kind of relationship they share. People who are homeless are a result of the economic and social processes; they are not separate from the system, but they are treated as such. Homeless people use spaces to inhabit but not as occupiers. They can be either static or mobile depending on the requirements and accessibilities they must meet. Homeless people select places to sit, relax, eat, beg, search for food, and sleep. On designing any space, few audiences are always kept in mind; meaning, a design is always based on the type of people it will cater to. Similarly, during such designs for a public space, few audiences are often ignored. These can be the street vendors, unauthorized parking people of the neighborhood, or the homeless. And in the hindsight, the results are seen otherwise. Because of the negligence to such an audience, they tend to face socio-spatial exclusion and exclusion in mobility and resulting in erosion of those public spaces. It is hence a study to understand the ways to make better livable public

Keywords: Homeless, public space, spatiality, street, travel pattern

[This article belongs to International Journal of Architecture and Infrastructure Planning(ijaip)]

How to cite this article: Shraddha Sharma, Debashis Sanyal. Homeless and their Impact on Public Space. International Journal of Architecture and Infrastructure Planning. 2023; 8(1):12-20.
How to cite this URL: Shraddha Sharma, Debashis Sanyal. Homeless and their Impact on Public Space. International Journal of Architecture and Infrastructure Planning. 2023; 8(1):12-20. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/ijaip/article=2023/view=89905

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Regular Issue Open Access Article
Volume 8
Issue 1
Received December 19, 2021
Accepted January 23, 2022
Published January 7, 2023