Many U.S. cities have introduced sanctioned encampments (SEs) for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) to help address this growing crisis. In many cases, SEs have sustained significant NIMBY opposition. In this article, we use a longitudinal survey to examine which socio-spatial factors and personal characteristics of local residents affect support for SEs at the time of their siting and 6 months after their implementation. We find that support for SEs increases over time, is lower among homeowners and more politically conservative residents, and is higher among people believing that homelessness is the result of structural failures.
AdamsB.CarrollM.GutierrezN.2023. “Community Acceptance of, and Opposition to, Homeless-Serving Facilities.”International Journal on Homelessness3 (2): 156–83.
2.
AgansRobert P.LiuGuangya. 2015. “Public Attitudes toward the Homeless.”Global Journal of Science Frontier Research: E Interdisciplinary15 (3): 1–8.
BrinegarSarah J.2000. “Responses to Homelessness in Tempe, Arizona: Public Opinion and Government Policy.”Urban Geography21 (6): 497–516.
6.
BrinegarSarah J.2003. “The Social Construction of Homeless Shelters in the Phoenix Area.”Urban Geography24 (1): 61–74.
7.
BrownJocelyn L.2023. “Addressing Racial Capitalism’s Impact on Black Essential Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Recommendations.”Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities10 (4): 1597–604. doi:10.1007/s40615-022-01346-y.
ColburnGregAldernClayton Page. 2022. Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns. Berkeley: University of California Press.
11.
ComstockGeorge E.HelsingKnud J.1973. “Characteristics of Respondents and Nonrespondents to a Questionnaire for Estimating Community Mood.”American Journal of Epidemiology97 (4): 233–39.
12.
DearMichael. 1992. “Understanding and Overcoming the NIMBY Syndrome.”Journal of the American Planning Association58 (3): 288-300. doi:10.1080/01944369208975808
13.
DearMichaelTaylorS. MartinHallG. B.1980. “External Effects of Mental Health Facilities.”Annals of the Association of American Geographers70 (3): 342–52. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.1980.tb01318.x.
EvansKrista. 2024. “It Takes a Tiny House Village: A Comparative Case Study of Barriers and Strategies for the Integration of Tiny House Villages for Homeless Persons in Missouri.”Journal of Planning Education and Research44:938–46.
16.
FarrellChad R.2005. “Sharing Neighborhoods: Order and Disorder in Homeless-Domiciled Encounters.”American Behavioral Scientist48 (8): 1033–54.
17.
FieldAndy. 2013. Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. 4th ed.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
18.
FlowersTatianaChuangTamaraBalarajanBrammhi. 2022. “Denverites Worried Crime Would Accompany Safe Outdoor Spaces. Data Shows Opposite Happened.”The Colorado Sun, October. https://coloradosun.com/2022/10/24/safe-outdoor-space/.
HillierAmyCannuscioCarolyn C.GriffinLatifahThomasNicoleGlanzKaren. 2014. “The Value of Conducting Door-to-Door Surveys.”International Journal of Social Research Methodology17 (3): 285–302. doi:10.1080/13645579.2012.733173.
26.
HubbardPhil. 2005. “Accommodating Otherness: Anti-Asylum Centre Protest and the Maintenance of White Privilege.”Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers30 (1): 52–65. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3804529.
27.
JohnsonTimothyFreelsSallyParsonsJenniferVangeestJonathan. 1997. “Substance Abuse and Homelessness: Social Selection or Social Adaptation.”Addiction92 (4): 437–43. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1997.tb03375.x.
28.
KressJune B. 1994. “Homeless Fatigue Syndrome: The Backlash against the Crime of Homelessness in the 1990s.”Social Justice21 (3): 85–102.
29.
LeeBarrettJonesA. Sue HinzeLewisDavid W.1990. “Public Beliefs about the Causes of Homelessness.”Social Forces69 (1): 253–65. doi:10.1093/sf/69.1.253.
30.
Lyon-CalloVincent. 2001. “Making Sense of NIMBY Poverty, Power, and Community Opposition to Homeless Shelters.”City and Society13 (1): 183–209. doi:10.1525/city.2001.13.2.183.
31.
ManvilleMichaelMonkkonenPaavo. 2024. “Unwanted Housing: Localism and Politics of Housing Development.”Journal of Planning Education and Research44:685–700.
32.
MargierAntonin. 2021. “The Compassionate Invisibilization of Homelessness: Where Revanchist and Supportive City Policies Meet.”Urban Geography44 (1): 178–97. doi:10.1080/02723638.2021.1970915.
33.
MatsuokaRyojiMaedaTadahiko. 2015. “Neighborhood and Individual Factors Associated with Survey Response Behavior: A Multilevel Multinomial Regression Analysis of a Nationwide Survey in Japan.”Social Science Japan Journal18 (2): 217–32.
McNeeGeorginaPojaniDorina. 2021. “NIMBYism as a Barrier to Housing and Social Mix in San Francisco.”Journal of Housing the Built Environment37 (1): 553–75.
38.
OrrJadeNémethJeremyRigolonAlessandroGranjaLaura SantosSlabaughDanielle. 2024. “Beyond Revanchism? Learning from Sanctioned Homeless Encampments in the U.S.”Urban Geography45:433–59. doi:10.1080/02723638.2023.2196141.
39.
PhelanJoLinkBruce G.StueveAnnMooreRobert E.1995. “Education, Social Liberalism, and Economic Conservatism: Attitudes toward Homeless People.”American Sociological Review60:1126–40. doi:10.2307/2096349.
40.
RelphE.1976. Place and Placelessness. London: Pion.
41.
RowanSarah E.McCormickDavid W.WendelKaren A.ScottTracyde HeyJesse Chavez-vanWilcoxKayStellaSarah A.KamisKevinBurmanWilliam J.MarxGrace E.2022. “Lower Prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection among People Experiencing Homelessness Tested in Outdoor Encampments Compared with Overnight Shelters: Denver, Colorado, June-July 2020.”Clinical Infectious Diseases75 (1): e157–64. doi:10.1093/cid/ciac039.
42.
SchivelyCarissa. 2007. “Understanding the NIMBY and LULU Phenomena: Reassessing Our Knowledge Base and Informing Future Research.”Journal of Planning Literature21 (3): 255–67.
TakahashiLois M.1996. “A Decade of Understanding Homelessness in the USA: From Characterization to Representation.”Progress in Human Geography20 (3): 291–310. doi:10.1177/030913259602000301.
48.
TakahashiLois M.1997a. “Information and Attitudes Toward Mental Health Care Facilities: Implications for Addressing the NIMBY Syndrome.”Journal of Planning Education and Research17 (2): 95–187.
49.
TakahashiLois M.1997b. “The Socio-Spatial Stigmatization of Homelessness and HIV/AIDS: Toward an Explanation of NIMBY Syndrome.”Social Sciences and Medicine45 (6): 901–14.
50.
TakahashiLois M.DearMichael J.1997. “The Changing Dynamics of Community Opposition to Human Service Facilities.”Journal of American Planning Association63 (1): 79–93.
51.
TausenBrittany M.CharlesonMaryFingerhutLea. 2021. “Proximity with Limited Humanity: How Hosting a Tent City Impacted College Student’s Perceptions of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness.”Journal of Community Psychology49:2853–73.
52.
ThomasJohn V.2006. “Dividing Lines and Bottom Lines: The Forces Shaping Local Development Patterns.”Journal of Planning Education and Research25 (3): 275–93.
53.
TompsettCarolyn J.ToroPaul A.GuzickiMelissaManriqueManuelZatakiaJigna. 2006. “Homelessness in the United States: Assessing Changes in Prevalence and Public Opinion, 1993-2001.”American Journal of Community Psychology37 (1–2): 29–46.
54.
U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. “American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.”
WeitzRose. 2008. “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Bus? NIMBYism and Popular Images of Public Transit.”Journal of Urbanism1 (2): 157–72.
57.
WhiteJayAshtonBill. 1992. Meeting Housing Needs and the NIMBY Syndrome. Sackville: Rural and Small-Town Research and Studies Program, Department of Geography, Mount Allison University.
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
