Project Number:
06-13
Research Project:
The Mobility of Homeless People and Their Use of Public Transit in Long Beach, CA
P.I. Name & Address:
Christine Jocoy
California State University, Long Beach
Department of Geography
1250 Bellflower Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90840
Tel: (562) 985-6941
Fax:
Email: cjocoy@csulb.edu
Project Objective:
The mobility of the homeless is often constrained by certain social and geographic factors, including the marginalization of homelessness and concentration of homeless in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty and in park and other public spaces in downtown areas that can be used for sleeping and networking. These spaces and places, such as homeless shelters and drug rehabilitation centers, are stigmatized in our society and consequently are often located in neighborhoods of relatively low resistance to services. Geographically, these spaces may be identified as “spaces of containment,” sites in which marginalized populations, such as the homeless, are maintained through the production of social and spatial barriers to their mobility. In Long Beach this is evinced by the highly contested placement of new shelter facilities for homeless individuals, as some neighborhoods are successful at resisting services and keeping these issues “out of my backyard” (e.g., the NIMBY syndrome). Despite the assumption that homeless individuals are relatively immobile because of their circumstances, mobility is crucial to the ability of homeless people to move between stigmatized and non-stigmatized places, such as places of employment (in Long Beach and beyond) and services (such as those offered at the Veteran’s Administration). Public transportation services thus offer a critical outlet for homeless individuals with limited resources who must travel out of these “spaces of containment” on a daily basis. As such, it is crucial to understand the ways in which the homeless use public transit to access services, shelter, affordable housing, education, and employment. This research examines public transit use by the homeless in Long Beach, CA, and evaluates the extent to which the mobility provided by public transit constrains or enables their ability to navigate between stigmatized and non-stigmatized places. The goal is to provide a sound plan for addressing the needs of the City of Long Beach’s homeless population.
Task Descriptions:
1. Hire graduate student assistants; set up accounts; buy materials; set up research space at CBRS
2. Conduct focus group and analyze results; build GIS data layers
3. Recruit and hire undergraduates for May start date; design survey
4. Pilot test and retest survey; train students to administer survey with pilot test; conduct preliminary analyses
5. Continue building GIS; modify survey; train student in data entry
6. Recruit participants; conduct survey; enter data
7. Conduct survey; enter data
8. Complete final surveys, enter data; conduct analysis
9. Complete analysis and write up results; present results at APCG conference
10. Prepare report for METRANS
11. Prepare and submit article for publication
Milestones, Dates:
March 1, 2006 - February 28, 2007
Total Budget:
$81,673
Student Involvement:
One graduate student @ $15.00/hr, 750 hours
One undergraduate student @ $10.00/hr, 956 hours
Relationship to Other Research Projects:
Related to 99-11; part of urban mobility focus area
Technology Transfer Activities:
Project report posted on the website
Potential Benefits of the Project:
Improved mobility for disadvantaged populations
TRB Keywords:
Public transit, transportation disadvantage
Primary Subject:
4b.3 Behavioral sciences and human performance
Goals:
4c.2 Mobility
Enabling Research:
4c.6 Human performance and behavior
Modal Orientation:
4c.16 Transit
