Homes Without Homes: An Ethno-Archaeology of Vehicle Residency in Public Parking

Abstract

Although vehicles are among the most common shelters used by people across North America, there are few studies on vehicle residency as primary housing; most of these have focused on vehicle residency in oppositional contexts of either temporary vacationing or abject homelessness. This article draws on ethnographic and archaeological research conducted from 2010 to 2020 to document intersecting personal, systemic, and structural dimensions of long-term vehicle residency in public parking throughout Seattle (Washington State, United States). It illustrates how settlement bias and structural violence constrain people’s decisions of vehicle residency in publicly accessible parking. The implications and recommendations from this research support the inclusion of vehicle residency in community services, policies, and affordable housing.