Problematic Situations in Space
The spatial standards of shelters for the homeless in Kőbánya
Text and photos: Bence Bene
The integration of homeless people is of primary importance. The main goal of institutions catering and caring for the homeless should be not only to provide a minimal protective network but also to integrate them socially and thus into the labour market. This is a gradual process of several stages in which the institutions providing the homeless with daycare or night shelter and temporary hostels have a key role. As several studies have already pointed out, the homeless have a different approach and attitude to public spaces than the majority of society. Streets and squares that they use have more intense impacts on them than on other members of society. Thus although the care for homeless people still remains a social political issue, it also as an aspect which can be researched and presented with means of urban architecture. This study focused on the urban facilities of homeless shelters and hostels in Kőbánya researched through the standards of their context and environment. Besides theory, the comparative analysis was based on field studies (maps, photographs) and targeted to highlight the problematic spatial situations that may be defined as the habitats of probably the most vulnerable citydwellers.