There is a growing body of research on homelessness, and collective action amongst the homeless. Tent cities are examples of self-help housing efforts. Tent cities are erected as shelter and make poverty visible in public domains. The form and interaction of tent cities are context specific. The perceptions of tent city participants in Canada remain partly understood by researchers. The aim of this thesis is to investigate activism and collective mobilization in one tent city – Cridge Park tent city - from the perspectives of tent city participants. I questioned what the experiences in the tent city meant for participants, their perceived public reaction to the tent city, and whether the research participants continue their activism beyond Cridge Park tent city. I present an empirically-grounded case study to uncover four participants’ perspectives of their involvement. I used qualitative research methods to access the perspectives of tent cities from four Cridge Park tent city participants. Cridge Park participants spoke of Cridge Park tent city as a “community” where they enjoyed freedom to negotiate their individual identity and where they found security and safety, which they lost when the tent city was closed. Including houseless persons in the decision-making process for services and policies that directly impact them is required to better meet their needs. Comparative research could investigate contextual differences and influences on the success or failure of tent cities as forms of social movement activities. / Graduate

The Eviction is a film about the forced eviction of a large homeless encampment in Dallas. In an effort to understand the gravity over a month of filming I will capture the stories of people, events, and the trials of those who are trying to offer a hand up.

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How are homeless individuals, who have no access to private space yet still have the same needs of dwelling as the rest of us, regarded when they exercise their right to dwell? This question guided my research of Edmontons Tent City, which emerged during the summer of 2007. Interviews with twenty-two individuals, including with encampment residents, service providers, and state officials, informed a broader understanding of why the encampment emerged at the time that it did; how Edmontons public spaces accommodate the homeless; and, how Tent City shaped municipal and provincial policy on housing and homelessness. Homeless campers saw Tent City as home, while state management focused on excluding homeless campers from the downtown public space to restore order to the streets of Edmonton, as well as their positive public image. Tent City constituted a claim by homeless campers to occupy public space and be represented as part of the public but hitherto this has been met with increased strategies of dispersement and exclusion rather than with an expansion of citizenship rights. I argue that Tent City illuminates the states preoccupation with regulating the visibility of homeless individuals rather than focusing on the dwelling needs of homeless campers.