The Roofless Truth: Planning and Architecture for Homelessness examines how cities and their public spaces can be designed with people experiencing homelessness in mind, rather than against them.
About This Book
Edited by Matthias Drilling and Fabian Neuhaus, this substantial volume brings architecture and urban planning into conversation with sociology, social work and neighbouring disciplines. Academic analysis sits alongside essays by practitioners, field reports and student design projects, with case studies drawn from Canada, Germany, Iran, Switzerland and the United States.
Its central argument is that design is a social practice: even minor spatial decisions—where a bench goes, how a threshold is handled—can determine who is included and who is pushed out. The book makes the case for planning that supports access and dignity for the most vulnerable people in the city.
Key Features
- Interdisciplinary perspectives from architecture, urban planning, sociology and social work
- Case studies from Canada, Germany, Iran, Switzerland and the United States
- Academic essays, practitioner contributions, field reports and student design proposals
- Illustrated with 172 colour and 19 black-and-white images
What You'll Discover
- How small design decisions in public space can include or exclude people experiencing homelessness
- Ways planners and architects can work with social workers and researchers on shared problems
- International examples of design approaches to homelessness
- How design operates as a social practice, not only a formal one
About the Author
Matthias Drilling and Fabian Neuhaus edit the volume, gathering contributions from researchers, practitioners and students working across architecture, planning and the social sciences.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Dimensions: 205 × 290 mm
- Pages: 432
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783038604754
- Publisher: Park Books
Perfect For: Architects, urban planners, social workers, policymakers and students concerned with public space, social housing and the right to the city.