Spatial Mobility of Homeless People - Map analysis based on questionnaires from the Práter street’s day center

Abstract

"Any man who does not have his own land is not a man." – Talmud, Yevam 63a.

The presence of homelessness is universal, but its assessment varies. While in some analysis we find romantic references to it, policy systems sometimes try to forcefully eradicate this lifestyle. The appearance of homelessness is not uniform across the globe: it appears with varying degrees of intensity, role and perspective in different parts of the world. This research is spatially defined, as it focuses on the lifestyle of homeless people who visit the day center (social service) in Práter Street, in Budapest. It is based on a questionnaire that aims to reconstruct the mobility of homeless people through questions related to where respondents spent their day, what did they do and how did they move around. Researching and mapping the mobility of homeless people is an important part of 194 Bene Bence understanding and developing urban societies. The research presents the target group in more detail in terms of urban use.

The processing of the questionnaire is divided into three parts: data analysis, map analysis and video analysis. In addition to some basic information (the respondents’ gender, age, housing circumstances and the length of time they have spent living in homeless situation), a single question was asked: “Where do you spend your day?”. Based on the answers, maps and videos were created using data visualization. By observing the morphology of movements in these maps, respondents could be grouped into global and local transporters - depending on the extent of movement. The global transporter is able to travel long distances in one day, taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the city. He or she uses a lot of public transport, knows the social welfare systems available in the city - be it a hospital, a workplace, a homeless shelter, a day center or a soup kitchen. The movement of the local transporter is limited to the places (territories) in his or her comfort zone - close to his or her accomodation and well-known environment. He or she rarely travels long distances, uses only a few elements of the social welfare system. There is another, special group of transporters called “their home is the road”, who use public transport for sleeping and relaxing. Therefore, the interpretation of the movement of this group is very different from the previous ones, as „their home is the road” transporters inadvertently travel huge distances.

Research findings indicate the diversity of homelessness, which is line with Győri’s conclusion (2019) that the homeless people we perceive (gubbery or deadbeat) make up only 21% of the homeless society. In fact, far more people struggle with the state of homelessness, who remain invisible to the majority society, and often to social workers. Respondents can be grouped by age, housing circumstances (on the street, in a flat, in a social institute), transport habits or the length of time they have spent living in this situation. During examining the morphological behavior of the different groups, recurring elements and complex patterns could be identified. There are different mobility patterns (local and global) between young and old homeless people, between people sleeping in the street or in a social welfare institute, between those who use public transport and those who do not, etc. They use the city and take the opportunities of urban life in different ways.

The different forms of data visualization provide an opportunity to develop new insights, to validate previous research and to establish a new methodology for future research. It helps to present the human side of homelessness to the majority society and to understand the complexity of the situation. One of the most important results of this research is the realization of the potential of public transport. According to Oross (1996), there must be an important direction to help those living with the social services and to support those who are trapped outside the system. The proportion of public transport users in the target group is very high and they spend a lot of time travelling by public vehicles, so public transport can become the new means to reach and help non-users of the social welfare system.