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Finding Security on Skid Row: The Positive Role of Organizational and Social Ties in Service Hubs in the United States and Japan

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  • Matthew D. Marr

Abstract

Service hubs are neighborhoods where homelessness and efforts to address it cluster. Are these “skid rows†jails without bars, or are there ways that service hubs bolster residents’ feelings of security about their lives? To address these questions, I analyze ethnographic interview data from sixty residents of four hubs—Skid Row, Los Angeles; Overtown, Miami; Kamagasaki, Osaka; and San’ya, Tokyo. I find that in these service hubs, residents’ ontological security is supported by a combination of engagement with organizations, access to subsidized housing and income, and ties with family and friends. However, this sense of security can be undermined by negative experiences with police and crime, poor sanitation, welfare and aid bureaucracy, and redevelopment projects. I argue that these threats should be addressed to enhance the strengths of service hubs, which can provide important insights for efforts toward more even geographic distribution of housing and aid.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew D. Marr, 2021. "Finding Security on Skid Row: The Positive Role of Organizational and Social Ties in Service Hubs in the United States and Japan," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 693(1), pages 301-320, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:693:y:2021:i:1:p:301-320
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716221997025
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jennifer Robinson, 2011. "Cities in a World of Cities: The Comparative Gesture," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Deshonay Dozier, 2019. "Contested Development: Homeless Property, Police Reform, and Resistance in Skid Row, LA," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 179-194, January.
    3. Barrett A. Lee & Marybeth Shinn & Dennis P. Culhane, 2021. "Homelessness as a Moving Target," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 693(1), pages 8-26, January.
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