Housing First as a Global Fast Policy, Economic Tool, and Disciplinary Tactic


Daniel Kudla, Memorial University

While there are an abundance of studies evaluating the effectiveness of Housing First programs, there has been a recent surge in critical social science research that situates Housing First within broader debates about contemporary neoliberal homelessness governance. This paper provides clarity to this evolving and somewhat fragmented work by highlighting three main conceptualizations of critical Housing First research. First, it is interpreted as a technocratic global fast policy that, while appealing to policymakers and government officials, ultimately fails to adress the structural causes of housing insecurity and homelessness. Second, it is seen as an economic tool that prioritizes housing for a narrow cohort of “chronic homeless” that is believed to incur a high cost to scarce public resources. Third, it is seen as a disciplinary tactic that ignores people’s alternate expressions of home and compels them to abide by the norms of the private rental market. After outlining these three conceptualizations, we offer suggestions for future theoretical and empirical avenues for each of these themes. While this research often condemns Housing First as yet another form of neoliberal homeless governance, we argue future critical Housing First scholarship should employ comparative case studies across different nation states, examine instances of resistance and tension in its policy translation, diagnostic tools, and disciplinary tactics, and understand the convergence of myriad social actors and assemblages in its local implementation.

Non-presenting author: Andrew Clarke, University of New South Wales

This paper will be presented at the following session: