Abstract
This paper considers the history and context of the control of public spaces, how this is regulated currently and how it relates to the politics of homelessness and community governance with a specific focus on the regulation of public space in the contemporary city of Manchester.
Highlights
In March 2019, figures from the Ministry of Justice reported that between 2014 and 2017, 6518 people were found guilty—under the Vagrancy Act 1824—of rough sleeping
Labelled by the Liberal Democrats as a “Homeless Tax” this approach has been criticised as an “out of sight out of mind” approach that criminalises some of the most vulnerable people in society and arguably represents a poor example of public policy because it does nothing to tackle the essential problem of rough sleeping and homelessness
These powers would take the form of new public space protection orders (PSPOs) which if breached, would authorise a council officer or police officer to issue an on the spot fixed penalty fine of £100
Summary
In March 2019, figures from the Ministry of Justice reported that between 2014 and 2017, 6518 people were found guilty—under the Vagrancy Act 1824—of rough sleeping. Controlling the use of space and the issue of who is permitted to use public space, when and how, has its origins in the California School of Urbanism and ideas of defensible space This has been contributed to in the United Kingdom by academics such as Armitage and Ekblom (2019) whose seminal work on Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) has made an important contribution to a practice-based approach to reducing the risk of certain offences being. Sci. 2019, 8, 146 committed by the modification of the built environment This perspective has attracted some criticism for failing to integrate with other approaches, and whilst Armitage and Ekblom have responded to this, it remains the case that greater regulation of public space has both negative and positive aspects. Whilst acknowledging the importance and rigour of CPTED and related techniques, we want to talk in this paper about the development and current application of spatial regulation in the contemporary city of Manchester, whether this represents the neoliberalisation of society and space (Allmendinger 2017), and how this is currently affecting the homeless population of the city.
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