Timothy J. Crimmins

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS AMONG HOMELESS PEOPLE: ANOMALY OR NECESSITY?

ABSTRACT This study investigates how homeless people in downtown Atlanta access and use cell phones, internet, and email. The findings include the following: (1) over 60% of homeless people in this study owned a cell phone, used the internet, or had email access; (2) number of times homelessness was related to cell phone ownership and frequency of use; (3) age group was related to computer knowledge, internet frequency, and having an email account; and (4) age group and homeless locations were related to some uses of cell phone, whereas age group, homeless locations, and length of time homeless were related to some uses of email. The findings suggest that providing the homeless with better access to cell phones may enable social service agencies to maintain closer ties to the homeless and improve outreach services.

Urban Structure, Atlanta

h i an interview for the New York Times Magazine several years ago, Jane Jacobs responded to the question-Are the problems of the cities insoluble?: “No, of course not,” she asserted. “The current acute problems-pollution, noise, automobile congestion, bad housing, and so on-are not nearly so difficult as the problem of bringing epidemics. under control. That was a marvelous achievement of cities during the close of the last century and the earlier part of this one. Consider, too, how many problems had to be solved to electrify city industries, streets and homes, or in the job of equipping large, old cities with indoor plumbing and telephones. Mundane problems like these were solved rather magnificently in American cities, not so very long ago.”’ What Jane Jacobs had described here as the “marvelous achievement of cities” suggests one likely starting point for the creation of an urban history that could prove usable to other urbanists-social scientists, design professionals, and humanists alike: the documentation of those “solutions” to the “mundane problems” of urban America.

Home or Office? The Homeless and Atlanta’s Downtown Park

In this study, we apply symbolic interactionism to explore the ways that homeless men and women who regularly use a downtown park are active participants in the dynamic social construction of a public space. The case study suggests that as a general use space, the homeless did not identify the park as “home,” but did use it for their private purposes. Further, as a public place, there were persistent tensions between park officials and the homeless. Among the homeless men and women, those who used the park for their private purposes more regularly and had greater place attachment were more likely to adapt and less likely to persist or exit when confronted with park authorities. As a general public place, the park is becoming a vibrant and exciting locale for everyday, unscripted encounters.