Recommunalization of the disenfranchised

DOI10.1177/1362480606065909
Published date01 August 2006
Date01 August 2006
Subject MatterArticles
Recommunalization of the
disenfranchised
A theoretical and critical criminological
inquiry
BRUCE A. ARRIGO AND YOSHIKO TAKAHASHI
University of North Carolina, USA
Abstract
This article examines the eight-stage model of recommunalizing the
homeless in a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) as developed by
Arrigo and its theoretical grounding, based on principles derived
from critical criminology. In particular, by retrospectively identifying
how several key concepts emanating from peacemaking, anarchist
and cultural criminology are illustrated by the SRO’s formation and
operation, the article demonstrates where and how the dynamics of
identity formation, the development of collective residential power
and evolving reforms function throughout the facility. The article
concludes by tentatively exploring the relevance of the proposed
model for the resocialization and community re-entry of other
similarly disenfranchised constituencies.
Key Words
critical criminology • homelessness • recommunalization • single
room occupancy • theory
Introduction
Currently, housing programs for the homeless can be classif‌ied into four
major types: emergency shelter; transitional housing; voucher distribution;
and permanent housing (Hopper, 2003).1Of these, permanent housing
initiatives have garnered the most recent attention, especially among urban
307
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© 2006 SAGE Publications
London, Thousand Oaks
and New Delhi.
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Vol. 10(3): 307–336; 1362–4806
DOI: 10.1177/1362480606065909
planners, policy analysts and social scientists (e.g. Garr, 1995; Wright et al.,
1998; Burt et al., 2001). Permanent housing offers various services to street
dwellers who live independently in f‌ixed settings. For example, Section-8
subsidies allow families to rent or buy low- and modest-income homes in
the community, and receive services that promote stability and reunif‌ication
(Arrigo, 1998a). Agencies help homeless families move from the service
delivery system into safe, affordable and decent housing. Thereafter,
agencies provide families with intensive, home-based case management for
a limited period, at the same time connecting them to community-based
resources for longer-term support as needed.
While the effectiveness of various housing programs for the homeless has
been inconclusive and a source of considerable debate (e.g. Wright et al.,
1998),2sustained interest continues in the function of Single Room Occu-
pancy (SRO) facilities (Arrigo, 1997b, 2004; Hopper, 2003). SRO commu-
nities are different from other forms of low-rent, permanent housing in
several respects (Arrigo, 1994). SROs are apartment-style buildings with
several basic amenities (e.g. wash basin, bed). They also consist of common
areas (e.g. kitchen and lounge) shared by the buildings residents. Funda-
mentally, unlike all other models intended to house the homeless, the SRO
seeks to enfranchise residents through renewed identity formation, col-
lective empowerment and structural reform (i.e. the establishment of an
evolving organizational culture) (Arrigo, 1997a, 1999a, 2004). In this
context, the SRO fosters a developing sense of community and selfhood
among its reintegrating occupants.
One SRO model that experiences sustained success along these lines is
the Wood Streets Commons (WSC) project, located in downtown Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania.3Pivotal to the buildings ability to promote tenant
reintegration is its eight-stage model of resocialization or recommunaliza-
tion. Recommunalization entails a workable, sensible framework within
which participants (residents) legitimately participate in decision-making
activities while simultaneously experiencing the valuation of their unique
cultural identities. This process involves the acquisition of prescribed roles,
attitudes and values in the furtherance of the organizations character (Hart
et al., 2003). In addition, it entails the ongoing reconstitution of identity
by group members who actively and deliberately work to establish what
these evolving norms and beliefs are or will be, mindful of participant
differences.4
Although the developmental model of resocialization operating at Wood
Street Commons has been previously specif‌ied (e.g. Arrigo, 1997a), the
theoretical grounding that informs and anchors it has not. Moreover, once
this conceptual footing has been established, how the process of tenant re-
engagement actually works has not been subjected to scrutiny. These two
concerns involve the integration of theory and practice and the dynamics
by which meaningful changei.e. a developing sense of place and
personhoodoccurs in the SRO. To the extent that these matters can be
delineated, prospects for permanently housing the homeless through other
Theoretical Criminology 10(3)
308

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