“I Know a Guy”: Examining Homeless Income Generation and Spatial Mobility

Authors

Daniel J. Reinhard, Boulder Police Department
Ted Palys, Simon Fraser University

Abstract

"This study explores the variety of income-generating activities, along with corresponding distances that homeless and marginally housed persons travel to engage in the activities. Altogether 24 individuals were interviewed, and ethnographic field observations occurred over several months to increase rapport. The qualitatively gathered data were used in ArcGIS to calculate travel distances. These income-generating activities that persons engaged in were commonly forms of shadow work, and many kinds of income-generating activities were found. Among our sample, there appeared to be two distinct groups: those with more income methods and further travels, and those with fewer methods and shorter travels. The varied types of income-generating activities and corresponding mobility considerations are discussed."

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Reinhard, Daniel J. and Palys, Ted (2022) "“I Know a Guy”: Examining Homeless Income Generation and Spatial Mobility," Qualitative Criminology (QC): Vol. 11: No. 4, Article 4.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/qc/vol11/iss4/4