The Antiplanner, February 25, 2014
Amtrak has so many empty seats on its trains that it is creating a writers-in-residence program offering free long-distance train rides to writers provided that they tweet their journeys. Despite my skepticism for government subsidies to trains, I love trains and have always dreamed of living on one. So I’m ready to take up my residency.
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It's a brilliant plan! The homeless are known to hop freight cars anyway, so why not give them free passes on Amtrak trains. The empty seats are already paid for, and the seats are empty. The romance of train travel may be priceless, but not to enough people, so perhaps the romance can be shared with people who don't get much of it in their lives. It's a win - win!
Here's another solution to the homeless crisis from a design competition, Tesser Act, Almost Home Design Competition. At 30% to 40%, this would either take care of most of the area's problems, or attract more for such an attractive spot with "seats" to fill. Taxpayers get to pay for all manner of programs hatched by bureaucrats - necessary services, or jobs programs for the people who invent them? Does either project here seem workable to you?
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The neighbourhood will have a series of public programs as well as being residential. These programs will activate the neighbourhood and provide activities & jobs for the homeless, enabling them to develop a sense of responsibility & self-worth within their new community. They will also provide a source of income to maintain and potentially help fund the development. The ‘development’ would be funded both publicly and privately.
There are innumerable vacant strips of land created by train and tram lines – obstacles that can be readily ‘bridged’ to form vibrant neighbourhoods that re-integrate the homeless. So take a look around your city… how many sites would be suitable for a project like this?
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