Governing of space and the displacement of the unhoused

This honours thesis examines the criminalization of homelessness in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Through a critical engagement with municipal by-laws and how public spaces are designed and regulated in the downtown core of the community, I explore the politics of the regulation of space and the impacts on unhoused folks who cannot use the space in the way it was intended to be used. Through arts-based participatory methods and semi-structured one on one interviews, this research centers the voices of folks who have at some point in their lives, or who are currently experiencing homelessness. Drawing on the empirical data collected in this study, I found that participants have diverse perspectives about police (and other legal actors), have experienced feeling ‘othered’ due to their unhoused status, sometimes internalize this ‘othering’, and have desires to feel safe, supported, and a sense of belonging in their rural community. This work contributes a rural perspective to a larger body of sociological and socio-legal work that examines the regulation of public spaces and the criminalization of homelessness.