Edmund Thomas Green

Homeless City

De-centralised policies and care-focused homeless support in the Netherlands has led to an over-simplified definition of homelessness, meaning municipalities fail to recognise their most vulnerable inhabitants. This thesis analyses the pathways into and out of homelessness in Rotterdam, identifying the groups experiencing similar prejudice or assessment and evaluating the role architecture has to play in ending their homelessness.

Two groups are identified as potentials for non-care-based support as part of a symbiotic community structure centred around a temporary, demountable, transitional housing scheme. ‘Third spaces’ at the ground floor level ensure the activation of ex-homeless residents while integrating the local public. The residential spaces on the first floor are conceived through open building principles and materialised via self-build technologies.

Homeless City represents a reformed, more humanistic image of homelessness - one that challenges the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dichotomy because it illustrates the great lengths we’d all go through to create a home.

More information

• Master thesis 'Homeless City'