The Meanest Streets – Getting Meaner

Photo of a Los Angeles city street

Photo courtesy of Eric Demarcq / flickr

A new report released July 13 ranks the nation’s “Meanest Cities.” Both homelessness and criminalization of homelessness are on the rise according to the report, published by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP).  

The researchers tracked laws ranging from citywide prohibitions on public camping, to creating odor or spitting. Some cities even prohibit businesses from sharing food with homeless people.  

Out of 273 cities reviewed for the report, Los Angeles ranks as the “Meanest City,” the one with laws most hostile to the city’s poor and homeless people.  

L.A.’s strict enforcement practices helped push the city to the top of the report’s rankings. And in 2007, the report says, Los Angeles spent more money on 50 extra police officers in neighborhoods frequented by the homeless than it spent on services for the homeless.  

Although the additional police have led to a decline in crime, advocates argue that supportive housing has similar effects, especially when the crimes are related to living in public spaces, which is often the case.  

The homeless are rarely able to afford fines for even minor offenses like loitering, and face jail instead. “It costs more to jail a person than it does to provide permanent supportive housing,” said Tulin Ozdeger, NLCHP Civil Rights Program Director.  

During one 11-month period, Los Angeles spent $3.6 million repeatedly prosecuting 24 homeless individuals. For the same amount, according to the Lewin Group, a management research consultancy, the city could have provided housing for over 350 people.  

In addition to ranking the meanest cities, the report also commends four cities for exemplary programs: Cleveland, Daytona, Portland and Seattle.  

Although the District of Columbia did not make the rankings, some restrictions, like a citywide ban on vehicle residence and camping, are broader than those in Los Angeles. 

Top Ten Meanest Cities  

  1. Los Angeles, CA
  2. St. Petersburg, FL
  3. Orlando, FL
  4. Atlanta, GA
  5. Gainesville, FL
  6. Kalamazoo, MI
  7. San Francisco, CA
  8. Honolulu, HI
  9. Bradenton, FL
  10. Berkeley, CA

Issues |Civil Rights|Criminalization of Homelessness

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