A growing number of people are using vehicles as their primary shelters across the USA. Some enjoy the “van life” or travel regularly as “snowbirds,” some are “digital nomads” working remotely or “work kampers” employed in campgrounds, festivals and harvests. Some individuals and families are displaced into their vehicles due to personal and environmental catastrophes, while some use their vehicles to maintain connections with familiar communities where they can no longer afford to live. Every vehicle resident represents their unique experiences, histories and camps or communities; and yet, many who live in vehicles experience similar needs, concerns, regulations and forms of discrimination. This session considers many of the camps that exist under a big tent of vehicle residency through an anthropological lens, focusing on people’s innovative adaptive strategies and best practices to thrive and succeed. Attendees will learn about a variety of parking programs that meet the diverse needs of people living in vehicles, nomadic communities that empower vehicle residency through mutual aid and support, as well as innovative municipal, social service, and faith-based programs that meet the immediate and long term needs of vehicle residents across the USA.
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Presenter:
Dr. Graham J. Pruss is an anthropologist who studies vehicle residency in North America. His research focuses on the intersection of lived experiences, social services, legal…