With all the chatter and the feelings this week about the homeless population in San Francisco and in the Haight particularly, Alex Mayyasi's in-depth coverage of the logistics, facts and economics of current street life in the city comes at just the right time.
The conversation about homelessness, which is a touchy subject in the city even under ordinary circumstances and which has been fueled lately by AB-5, the proposed Homeless Persons' Bill of Rights and Fairness Act, often returns to the same subject: the lack of analytical data about the homeless population, and the reliance on personal impressions and prejudices. Lucky for us, Alex Mayyasi just wrote and published on Priceonomics an extensive, well-researched look at how homelessness works in San Francisco, and particularly at the epicenter of the Haight. Read it. Additionally, we recommend reading Hobos, Hustlers & Backsliders, a three-year-old book by Teresa Gowan (you can buy it at the Booksmith, where we work, and where owners Christin Evans and Praveen Madan make it perennial staff rec). Hobos is a thorough, analytical, well-researched ethnography of homeless men in San Francisco: where they are from, how they become homeless, what happens after they live on the streets and how they move on. So if you feel like you need to know more about your neighborhood, or about how homelessness actually works in San Francisco, get reading. But don't worry, it won't be on the final.
The conversation about homelessness, which is a touchy subject in the city even under ordinary circumstances and which has been fueled lately by AB-5, the proposed Homeless Persons' Bill of Rights and Fairness Act, often returns to the same subject: the lack of analytical data about the homeless population, and the reliance on personal impressions and prejudices. Lucky for us, Alex Mayyasi just wrote and published on Priceonomics an extensive, well-researched look at how homelessness works in San Francisco, and particularly at the epicenter of the Haight. Read it. Additionally, we recommend reading Hobos, Hustlers & Backsliders, a three-year-old book by Teresa Gowan (you can buy it at the Booksmith, where we work, and where owners Christin Evans and Praveen Madan make it perennial staff rec). Hobos is a thorough, analytical, well-researched ethnography of homeless men in San Francisco: where they are from, how they become homeless, what happens after they live on the streets and how they move on. So if you feel like you need to know more about your neighborhood, or about how homelessness actually works in San Francisco, get reading. But don't worry, it won't be on the final.
