Vehicular homelessness and spatial justice: “Quality-of-life” ordinances and just parking policy in the Los Angeles Continuum of Care

Keywords: vehicular homelessness, transportation, spatial justice, Safe Parking, Los Angeles
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 41

Abstract

The right to housing is a basic human right but approximately half-a-million people experience homelessness, with 40 percent living unsheltered. Much public attention has focused on unhoused people sleeping in tents in public spaces. Yet as many as 50 percent of the unsheltered live in vehicles. For many, finding a safe place to park is an ongoing challenge, further complicated by the growing number of municipal ordinances that restrict vehicular dwelling.

We draw on point-in-time count data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to examine the spatial patterns of vehicular homelessness in Los Angeles from 2016-2020. We test the relationship between the presence of vehicle ordinances and the number of people sleeping in vehicles. While the data is an undercount, we find that the direct effect of an ordinance reduces the presence of vehicular dwellings in particular census tracts. However, the indirect effects in neighboring tracts are stronger and demonstrate how these ordinances serve to push the role of these ordinances in vehicular homeless between areas. We find that cities with citywide and overnight bans have greater impacts on people sleeping in vehicles compared to cities with less restrictive ordinances.

To address transportation injustice, we recommend the expansion of Safe Parking Programs to accommodate vehicular dwellings. Although a temporary solution, they provide safe spaces to park overnight, provide services, and deter harassment by housed residents and interactions with the police. Transformative spatial justice will require ongoing service provision, cash assistance, and policies that place people into permanently affordable housing.