(Photo by John Gillespie via Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED)
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For many years, cities have hosted international conferences for government leaders, business people, and activists. These conferences highlight cities and issues at a local level as opposed to having them in isolated areas. For the city, it means a wave of economic benefits as new people visit, bringing in new customers and potential investors. These conferences include the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in San Francisco and the UN General Assembly held in New York City, where many leaders from across the globe meet to discuss different topics.
However, efforts to attract international conferences and more out-of-town visitors have resulted in a concerning trend of municipalities clearing out encampments of unhoused individuals in hopes of “improving” the safety and view of their city. Especially for upcoming events that bring international attention, this clearing process happens in conjunction with the issue of overstrained shelters and other services intended to serve the needs of unhoused individuals. As such, many people without permanent housing are stuck living on the streets and in local parks, putting them into conflict with those trying to beautify the city for international visitors.
Sweeps intended to clear unhoused people from the streets may mean losing their items if they cannot move out in time. When unhoused individuals receive no access to store personal items someplace, they can no longer keep them since city services will often throw away items left behind when hiding the city’s lack of housing access.
International Meetings and Local Dilemmas
International conferences act as a type of diplomatic soft power by influencing the visitors’ view of the host country by hiding or removing impoverishment in the city. A recent example is when India hosted the G20 conference for the largest economic countries in the world and hid individuals who did not reflect the pristine image they wished to represent. These conferences are important for diplomacy, but when their presence leads to clearing out individuals with few resources available, it can have intense impacts on those pushed to the side.
A UCSF study shows that sweeps done by a municipality can cause an erosion of trust and a loss of stability for unhoused individuals. When sweeps are done in a quick time frame — for example, to prepare for an international conference — that means it is much less likely that there will be the proper support from either non-profit groups or government agencies to provide healthcare services, access to food or financial assistance, and more.
Sweeps can cost a city government a lot of money due to needing many public workers and law enforcement to ensure unhoused individuals in a targeted area move out of the city. This procedure shows how far policies have kept cities looking for short-term improvements that are ironic to what these conferences discuss to improve conditions for everyone.
Shelter From Climate Change
Clearing encampments can mean that unhoused individuals lose their shelters, whether tents or sidewalks, protecting them from the weather. When events such as the UN Climate Change Conference occur, these events can harm people at high risk from climate change-related weather events, such as heat waves or flash floods.
Ironically, many international events centred on climate change action can hurt a city’s most vulnerable residents. Cities must acknowledge that providing safe spaces for unhoused individuals is an important policy that can decrease medical costs for exposure to weather and other health issues that arise from being without good shelter. Additionally, assistance to permanent housing costs could be less than the total costs to a city in minimal measure in homeless assistance. Especially as homes are at risk of climate change damage and people leave for safer areas, city governments should address housing costs to prevent more people from becoming vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Solutions, Not Bandaids
Clearing out encampments of unhoused individuals can bring prompt change to the appearance of city streets. Still, local governments should address the underlying issues that consistently result in people living on the streets without proper policy reform. Even additional assistance, while necessary, should only be considered as a bandaid to this issue. While there are different arguments for the best ways to improve access to housing, there are much better options than the consistent harassment of unhoused individuals. For example, allowing zoning for more dense housing and ensuring that low-income units are mandatory in new developments can help to keep access to permanent homes possible. International organizations holding these conferences should recognize their impact on host cities and consider what should happen to reduce the unnecessary displacement of unhoused individuals.
