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Approaches to social inclusion, community resilience and homelessness in the context of emerging asocial societies

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About the project

The NIMBY (not in my backyard) narrative poses a significant barrier for all orders of government, especially municipalities, as well as homeless service organizations in adopting and implementing services and housing programs geared toward people who are homeless, precariously housed or living in poverty. NIMBYism is defined as an opposition to proposed infrastructure, services and the people who occupy those spaces. The backlash to encampments that emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is an example of this exclusionary discourse and strategies to displace unhoused or precariously housed people. Conversely, the YIMBY (yes in my backyard) movement centres on welcoming investment in equitable housing projects and promotes the inclusion of underserved groups in spatial organization and design.

This knowledge synthesis fills two gaps. First, it offers a prospectus of existing literatures on homelessness-related NIMBYism that shed light on the challenges communities face when attempting to support people who are homeless or precariously housed, as well as assess pragmatic ways communities resist this social exclusion. These literatures are drawn from peer-reviewed texts in sociology, criminology and public health, as well as grey literatures from governmental reports and community organizations in Canada and other English-speaking countries. Second, this knowledge synthesis project identifies key literature gaps and offers a comprehensive summary of strategies that address social exclusion and promote community resilience.

Key findings

Policy implications

Further information

Read the full report

Contact the researchers

Lead Investigator Marcus A. Sibley, postdoctoral fellow, Wilfrid Laurier University: msibley@wlu.ca

Danielle Thompson, research assistant, University of Waterloo: d37thompson@uwaterloo.ca

Natasha Martino, research assistant, McMaster University: martinon@mcmaster.ca

Erin Dej, assistant professor, Wilfrid Laurier University: edej@wlu.ca

Samantha Henderson, project coordinator, Wilfrid Laurier University: sahenderson@wlu.ca

Jason Webb, postdoctoral fellow, Wilfrid Laurier University: jawebb@wlu.ca

Carrie Sanders, professor, Wilfrid Laurier University: csanders@wlu.ca

The views expressed in this evidence brief are those of the authors and not those of SSHRC, Employment and Social Development Canada or the Government of Canada.

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