Homeless In America

After writing a book on Economics and interviewing several homeless friends, I feel confident enough to address the subject of homelessness in several states. I have studied homeless issues in CA, UT, NV, WA, GA, WV, MD, DC, VA, KY, MO, MI, NY, and a few others. The best states for homeless people usually seems to be those where there are large expanses of rural country (GA, WV, MO) for poor people to survive without getting jailed or harassed as often as in cities, but they are also more likely to stay monetarily poor (although land and space rich). The best cities for homeless are Salt Lake City, UT and Las Vegas, NV because of annual weather climates and liberal policies. Cities are the best places in general for homeless people to beg or busk for money, due to population stats; however it is important to note that due to larger economic forces more people with jobs are homeless, as the cost of living outpaces even employed income.

Salt Lake City started a program that gave tiny homes to homeless people; and yes that attracted more homeless people (who existed regardless previously without help), but compare that to most other cities. Los Angeles (LA), CA and New York City (NYC), NY (both huge cities) have huge homeless populations many of which are employed and get income but not enough to own property or rent; and despite the ability to bum or busk, the quality of life on the street is not improved as illegal shanty towns grow and get raided and removed. LA has a more hospitable year-round climate on the streets than NYC; but as long as the aristocratic ‘annoyance’ attitude about homelessness persists in US culture, it is likely that the causes will increase as the ‘unsightly’ problem gets pushed out of sight of official agendas.

One point about the ‘Liberal City Homelessness’ thing that i never hear people bring up, is that homeless people are taken better care of by liberal programs; therefore it is ironic but logical that homeless people will migrate to places they are treated better. Also cities with large populations on the coasts are more liberal because the masses are so mixed culturally it would not make sense to be conservative dip-shits to each-other, nothing would get done (it would be like Jerusalem and Palestine in every neighborhood).

The Homelessness crisis in America is always connected with the larger civil rights socio-economic problems of living wages and worker rights in a Capitalist culture.

SCOD Interviews and Talks about Housing, Jobs, and Homelessness:

SCOD History of Modern Philosophy

Calvin in Chicago about Homeless Shelters

[look for more on that Audiomack account near those recordings]

2019 – Drogo

 

*

Garden City Chapters

Chapter Summaries of ‘Garden Cities of Tomorrow‘ by Ebenezer Howard

1. Town-Country Magnet
2. Revenue – Agriculture
3. Revenue – Town Estates
4. Revenue – General Expenditures
5. Revenue – Expenditure Details
6. Administration
7. Semi-Municipal Enterprise
8. Pro-Municipal Work
9. Some Difficulties Considered
10. Combination of Proposals
11. Path Followed Up
12. Social Cities
13. Future of London

 

1. Town-Country Magnet

6000 acres, 30,000 people in the city and 2000 in agriculture estates

Central council for creation and maintenance of necessary public works

(Four gentlemen of responsible positions)

Garden City planning: division of acres into 6 radiating sections and rings

Garden City built at center of 6000 acres, but only covers 1000 acres

6 large radiant boulevards (120 ft wide) divide the 6000 acres into 6 pie parts

6 circular avenues: circus and rings of beltways (not including bypass)

Central Park is 5 acres apx. of circle garden and street circus

First Ring is 1 acre public buildings around the city center

Second Ring is 6 garden parks radiating from Central Park

Third Ring is a Crystal Palace for industrial stores and market avenue

Fourth Ring is masonry town-houses and avenue

Fifth Ring is Grand Avenue (inner beltway) with restaurant gardens

Sixth Ring is outer perimeter of industrial factories, near a bypass

Agricultural estates on 5000 acres outside of city

 

2. Revenue of a Garden City – Agricultural and Industrial estates

Entire revenue is from rent and fees, not taxes

Urban rent is higher than rural land

Rent goes from residents and businesses to city government who owns all property

 

3. Revenue of Urban Estates (Town-houses, Restaurants, and Crystal Palace)

How to manage rates with cost of living and inflation

Urban Lot sizes are 20′ x 130′

4. Revenue Expenditures 1 – general observations

Accounting for how revenue supports municipal needs

Enterprises with extreme capital are not needed or desired

Small businesses are promoted in the interest of a functioning population

5. Revenue Expenditures 2 – details

Building construction and city planning: zoning, methods, details

Discussion of how 6 radiant sections and 6 rings function and support each-other

Major component size, cost, and usage.

Importance of cooperation: how to balance against selfish demands due to inter-dependence

Rent Budget goes to public pay, pensions, property maintenance, constructions

 

6. Administration: who governs what?

Most of us are both Individualists and Communists: we believe in freedom and community

Public and Private issues; temperance

Democratic politics and representation vs Bureaucratic appointments without elections

7. Local Business

Public markets are owned by the City

Retail Business is limited to the Crystal Palace with local options

Introduce tenants, prevent waste and pollution, fair competition to avoid monopolies

8. Municipal Work – pro-public service

Philanthropic charitable institutions, religious societies, and educational agencies.

Work placement office.

 

9. Difficulties of Nature and Humans

Challenges of nature, human nature, and artificial constructs will always exist.

Nothing is perfect in reality, we just do the best we can.

Better society is worth our efforts, although perfection is impossible.

•  Chapter summaries to be continued later

 

32,000 people in medium Garden City population (58,000 larger Central City)

Rail lines and other public transportation need to connect workers to work places, and products to warehouses and shops. Distribution and traffic flow is critical for city function.

Link to original article on Garden Cities:  Garden Cities by E. Howard

*

Garden City of Letchworth, England

Report by Drogo 1999 @ SCAD, Georgia USA. Ebenezer Howard’s first version of his book was published in 1898 , under the title ‘Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform’, and was revised in 1902. The version studied was ‘Garden Cities of To-morrow‘, published by M.I.T. press in 1965 (67 years after it was first written). The preface by J.H. Osburn and a commentary by Lewis Mumford called ‘The Garden Idea and Modern Planning’, were both written in 1945.

(to be continued)

Drogo’s additional notes:  I was contacted by Raphael Guena and told about his article on “two french architects who built 2 garden-cities near Paris a century ago. They are called Eugène Gonnot and Georges Albenque.”

*

Garden Cities by Ebenezer Howard

From the book Garden Cities of To-morrow by Ebenezer Howard 1898, 1902

Ebenezer Howard was a shop keeper’s assistant, farmer, writer, sociologist, and statesman. Howard valued good living conditions, democracy, nature, human rights, and personalities. Howard lived in England and America (London, Nebraska, and Chicago). Osburn and Mumford added notes that introduce, critique, review, and praise Howard. JH Osburn claims Howard may have been influenced by Bellamy’s book Looking Backward. According to Lewis Mumford, Howard was also inspired by Spense, Buckingham, Wakefield, George, Kropotkin, and Howard’s wife Elizabeth Ann Bills of Nuneaton (who loved intellect and country-side). Howard’s narrow building lots were handed down from medieval English dimensions (20 x 130 ft).

Garden Cities of To-morrow begins by describing the “Three Magnets”: Town, Country, and Town-Country. Howard explains why we are attracted to the best of both Town and Country aspects. Town-Country benefits have cooperation, beauty, nature, green fields, green parks, good utilities, good commerce, social opportunity, high wages, low rents, low price rates, and low pollution!

In most chapters, Howard proposes how Garden Cities would function with diagrams. He describes inter-connected urban nodes. Central City is shown with a constellation of satellite micro-cities (garden cities, towns, villages, developments). Garden Cities at their heart have a central garden, with rings of dwellings, shops, roads, industry, fields, and farms. The ordered layout is meant to improve biological, social, economic, and personal life for everyone.

Howard considered some difficulties with analytic self-criticism. He saw the weak points in his plans, and how they might fail. This foresight can allow us to prepare for the worst problems, to better shape designs for the future. He maintained that human ideals are worth trying; quoting Darwin “Selfish and contentious men will not cohere, and without coherence nothing can be accomplished,”. Howard believed that Socialism and Individualism must come together in the future to realize a true, vital organic society and state.

Ebenezer Howard felt that Garden Cities would work, because the plans were based on understanding human nature. He indicated that Urban or Communal failures are a result of the ‘Duality Principle’ (Janus). Ignorance of the Duality Principle allows kindred mistakes, by regarding one principle action to the exclusion of others. Howard believed we are all communists to some degree, even those that shudder at being told this, because we believe in roads, parks, and libraries. Individualism is no less excellent, in his mind, as he compares good society to an orchestra that plays together, but practice separately. Expense, however, always tends to get in the way of progress.

Sir Raymond Unwin worked with Howard. In 1903 they designed and established the first Garden City in England, named ‘Letchworth’. Letchworth proved a success, and in 1919 the second Garden City ‘Welwyn’ was founded. By 1950 the cities had a combined population of over 40,000. The account of their success is given in Purdom’s Building of Satellite Towns. Some key points regarding the study of Garden Cities are: how urban and rural districts connect, health and sanitation, zoning limitations of density and sprawl allowing light, gardens, and leisure, harmony rather than standardization, communications, ownership and cooperative leasing, public freedom and choice of enterprise.

Contemporary critics dismissed “Garden Cities” as more akin to the fantasy of H.G. Wells, than to the realities of urban planning. Despite the critics, Garden Cities of To-morrow is cited in countless planning bibliographies, and provides an organic alternative to bleak industrial future city-scapes. So what happened? Our suburbs in America do not follow his models, although some are better than others. Howard wanted to keep the city, town, and country distinct from each other, unlike amorphous suburban sprawl. He wanted more green around and in cities, by confining and condensing urban development, to keep the country rural, pastoral, and agrarian; yet integrating their foundations for healthy and function living.

“The pathway of any experiment worth achieving, is strewn with failures. Success is, for the most part, built on failure.”  – Ebenezer Howard

“Creative work always arises by the synthesis in one’s mind of material from otherwise unrelated sources…”  – J.H. Osburn

Related Article:  Garden City Chapters

*