“Damned if we do, damned if we don't”: Examining the municipal problematization of homelessness in Edmonton, Canada during COVID-19

Evans, Joshua, Long, Fiona and DeVerteuil, Geoffrey ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3036-9303 2024. “Damned if we do, damned if we don't”: Examining the municipal problematization of homelessness in Edmonton, Canada during COVID-19. Cities 152 , 105238. 10.1016/j.cities.2024.105238

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Abstract

Urban marginality has long-been a concern of urban studies. The governance of urban marginality is important empirical terrain, particularly in the context of COVID-19, an event that challenged established governance systems globally. This article contributes to our understanding of the governance of urban marginality during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining urban poverty management responses in one Canadian city, Edmonton, Alberta. The article makes two contributions in this regard. First, the paper theorizes urban poverty management as a dispositif, an approach which draws attention to the role of problematization in the configuration of poverty management landscapes and the implications these configurations have for the spatial management of urban poverty in the city. Second, we show that while municipal officials attempted to reconfigure Edmonton's poverty management landscape, their efforts were inflected, and ultimately limited, by three ‘problem spaces’: forward fiscal liability, risk management, and legal jurisdiction. These problem spaces comprise what we call the ‘municipal mentality.’ We argue that this municipal mentality is indicative of the fact that municipal government is a conflict-laden site of articulation and that municipal decisions are often shaped by deliberation, deference and jurisdictional struggles which can have implications for the character of urban poverty management.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL) Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0264-2751
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	16 June 2024
Last Modified:	09 Jul 2024 10:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170370

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