Contested spaces of homelessness and being houseless: mobilising media in action-oriented research

这项研究探索了无家可归和无家可归的复杂空间。在公共、政策和学术话语中，“无家可归”一词的使用方式普遍而有问题，通常是对失去房子和家园的笼统描述。这既不符合许多“无家可归者”的生活经历，也不符合支持他们的组织所目睹的现实。本研究的出发点是“家”作为一种非地理限制的、多方面的人类体验的意义，通常被理解为由情感地理、场所制造、社会排斥和归属感塑造的。利用社会和地理理论，这项研究试图发展无家可归的概念。该项目询问了无家可归者和无家可归者的身份是如何构建和扩散的，由谁构建和扩散，以及为什么？临时住所对无家可归者和无房者有什么影响，反之亦然？如何利用媒体对无家可归者的生活产生积极影响？这些问题将与泰恩河畔纽卡斯尔的无家可归者一起探讨，通过访谈、经验绘制和参与者观察。此外，与媒体倡导组织Headliners的合作将导致制作一个视频纪录片，质疑和挑战对无家可归的传统描述和理解，并将经历这些情况的人们的声音带入政策辩论。该研究将产生一系列高质量的学术成果和非学术影响。

This research explores the complex spaces of homelessness andhouselessness. In public, policy and academic discourses, the term'homelessness' has been used in a way that is pervasive andproblematic, often as a catch-all for the loss of house and home.This does not fit with the lived experiences of many 'homeless'people, nor the realities witnessed by the organisations thatsupport them. The starting point of the research is the significanceof 'home' as a non-geographically bound, multifaceted humanexperience, typically understood as shaped by emotionalgeographies, place-making, social exclusion, and sense of belonging.Drawing on social and geographical theories, the research seeks todevelop the concept of houselessness. The project asks how arehomeless and houseless identities constructed and proliferated, bywhom, and why? What impact do temporary dwelling spaces haveon homeless and houseless people and vice versa? And how canmedia be deployed to have a positive influence on the lives ofhomeless and houseless people? These issues will be explored withpeople who are experiencing homelessness/houselessness inNewcastle upon Tyne, through interviews, experience mapping andparticipant observation. In addition, the collaboration with themedia advocacy organisation Headliners will lead to the productionof a video documentary, that interrogates and challengesconventional depictions and understandings of homelessness inplace, and brings the voices of people experiencing these conditionsinto the policy debate. The research will result in a series of highquality academic outputs and non-academic impacts.