Offer me a house...and then a job

                                Location: Frederick Street, Port of Spain.

                             This photo was taken on Frederick Street, Port of Spain. It portrays a homeless man asleep on the sidewalk as pedestrians go about their daily activities. Street dwellers are prevalent within cities and their numbers seem to be increasing annually. An important factor that has contributed to this issue is the increase in population of cities because of migration from rural areas to the cities and natural increase. Waugh (2002) indicated that most authorities have been unsuccessful in providing adequate shelter and services for this rapidly growing population and so many poor persons have to fend for themselves and survive via their own efforts. He goes on to say that some are faced with the alternative of sleeping on pavements or in public spaces. This coincides with the work of Hall and Barret (2012) as they relate this issue of homelessness to the mismatch between the demands for and supply of housing along with people's inability to afford housing.
 

                              I took this photo because I think it exhibits people's true attitude towards the homeless; indifferent. In my opinion, too many of us are unaware and unconcerned for the homeless. Street dwellers seem to have become an expected parameter of city life. Some of us walk city streets and pass these homeless people everyday without thinking twice about their circumstances. Street dwellers have become such an integrated part of city life that it does not seem to bother some of us to see a person sleeping on the streets. According to Catholic News, "The rapidly rising vagrant population is now an accepted part of our environment." This strikes me as extremely disheartening, distressing, disgusting and dissatisfactory. It seems as though only if the leaders of the world visit this country then there would be initiatives to evacuate these homeless people from the streets like the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this country hosted in 2009. More should be done on a regular basis like implementing and maintaining rehabilitation  centres and measures should be put in place to prevent more persons from becoming homeless.



Reference:


Hall, T., & Heather Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. USA and Canada: Routledge.


Waugh, D. 2002. An Integrated Approach. Nelson Thornes.

 

Introduction

                  Many people move into cities with the hopes and expectations of a better life as it relates to greater job opportunities, better schooling and health services and even recreation. Some of these expectations are met by some while others are faced with the disappointment, yet the reality of poor quality housing or perhaps worse. Hall and Barrett (2012) expalin that this issue of inadequate or low quality housing is due to the mismatch between the demand for and the supply of housing because of a rapidly increasing population within cities. Housing in cities are as diverse as the people living in them.