Teaching the geographies of the homeless: a GeoCapabilities approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article unpicks the geographies of homelessness in urban areas, which is a form of deprivation underrepresented in school geography. First it explores the micro- and macro-level factors that contribute to homelessness and how these affect the lives of homeless people. The concept of Firstspace, Secondspace and Thirdspace is used to deconstruct their lived experiences. After touching upon how the COVID-19 pandemic affected cities such as Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (which was forced to shut down, adversely affecting the lives of homeless people), the article focuses on the experience of a community of rough sleepers in the city. Here, the homeless are a product of a hyperreal neoliberal tourist economy who are forced underground into a series of tunnels constructed to remove water during episodic flash flooding. Their lived space involves constructing pathways of survival through the city, including dumpster diving and credit hustling. The article goes on to explore how learning about homelessness can help students to develop their GeoCapabilities, and offers a ‘powerful knowledge’ for young people to make sense of the changing geographies in their own urban areas.