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”一词的使用非常普遍，也存在问题，经常被用作失去房屋和家园的包罗万象。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见证的现实。这项研究的起点是“家”作为一种无地域限制的、多方面的人文体验的意义，通常被理解为情感代数、位置塑造、社会排斥和归属感。这项研究借鉴了社会和地理理论，试图发展出无家可归的概念。该项目询问无家可归者和无房身份是如何构建和传播的，由谁构建，为什么？临时住所对无家可归者和无家可归者有什么影响，反之亦然？如何利用媒体对无家可归者和无家可归者的生活产生积极影响？这些问题将通过访谈、经验图谱和参与者观察，与在泰恩河畔纽卡斯尔经历无家可归/无家可归的人一起探讨。此外，与媒体倡导组织Headliners的合作将导致制作一部视频纪录片，该纪录片质疑和挑战对无家可归者的传统描述和理解，并将经历这些情况的人的声音带入政策辩论。这项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.