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Hi, I'm in China.I learned some of American cities have a street full of homelessness and drug users.
I am wondering to what extent does this phenomenon exists? 10% or 20% of the streets? Most of the major cities.?Or what?
Most/all US cities do. We are going through a drug/opioid epidemic.
Its avoidable though.
Most/all? I'm not so sure about that. While my city (Buffalo) certainly has some street people with drug issues, there is no "street full of homelessness and drug users." Perhaps it is more prevalent in the "richer" cities with high rents and housing shortages, along with a bigger class divide. No tent cities, or any sidewalk tents, here, ever. Rarely see anyone sleeping in a park, sidewalk, or doorway (like none in the last 2 or 3 years, and I get around a lot). The "worst" would be a couple of street corners near low-income apartments and Metro stations that may have fewer than a dozen or so folks hanging around much too long and too late, but they also tend to keep to themselves.
And in cities I am familiar with, these type of streets with multiple homeless and drug users are not very common. Maybe at most 0.1% of streets in any given city, sometimes only a block or two, usually near concentrations of homeless shelters, social service organizations, and inter-city bus stations. The places you hear about and see are the outliers (though many can be especially harrowing to an outsider).
Last edited by RocketSci; 04-05-2024 at 07:19 AM..
Eh most big cities and bigger towns will have homeless encampments now, but what OP describes is basically Kensington in Philly, Skid Row in L.A. and the Tenderloin in SF. I'm sure there's others, but I couldn't think of an area quite like that in D.C. for instance.
Most/all? I'm not so sure about that. While my city (Buffalo) certainly has some street people with drug issues, there is no "street full of homelessness and drug users." Perhaps it is more prevalent in the "richer" cities with high rents and housing shortages, along with a bigger class divide. No tent cities, or any sidewalk tents, here, ever. Rarely see anyone sleeping in a park, sidewalk, or doorway (like none in the last 2 or 3 years, and I get around a lot). The "worst" would be a couple of street corners near low-income apartments and Metro stations that may have fewer than a dozen or so folks hanging around much too long and too late, but they also tend to keep to themselves.
And in cities I am familiar with, these type of streets with multiple homeless and drug users are not very common. Maybe at most 0.1% of streets in any given city, sometimes only a block or two, usually near concentrations of homeless shelters, social service organizations, and inter-city bus stations. The places you hear about and see are the outliers (though many can be especially harrowing to an outsider).
Buffalo area consistently has 300 opioid overdose deaths per year. And about 1,000 overdoses per year. Shall we continue or nah?
Eh most big cities and bigger towns will have homeless encampments now, but what OP describes is basically Kensington in Philly, Skid Row in L.A. and the Tenderloin in SF. I'm sure there's others, but I couldn't think of an area quite like that in D.C. for instance.
For DC - maybe the area around Gallery Place / Chinatown (some alleyways were well known open air drug market), but even there the things are much tamer than the likes of Kensington.
Pretty sure part of SoDo in Seattle has some concentration, as is the long time concentration around Old Town / Chinatown, Skidmore Fountains, and under Burnside Bridge in Portland OR.
Buffalo area consistently has 300 opioid overdose deaths per year. And about 1,000 overdoses per year. Shall we continue or nah?
I didn't say there weren't drug problems or homeless, just that there is no concentrated "drug user paradise" of "streets full of homelessness and drug users."
For DC - maybe the area around Gallery Place / Chinatown (some alleyways were well known open air drug market), but even there the things are much tamer than the likes of Kensington.
Pretty sure part of SoDo in Seattle has some concentration, as is the long time concentration around Old Town / Chinatown, Skidmore Fountains, and under Burnside Bridge in Portland OR.
Gallery Place/Chinatown has a degree of seediness and street people are a visible presence, but it's also home to museums, restaurants, a major sports arena, a significant transit hub, public buildings. So there's a lot of reasons for 'normal' people incl. tourists to go there.
I think Kensington is by far the worst, and that's because it's a combination of being addict and homeless central as well as a low income Philly hood and if we're honest Philly hoods are among the most derelict you'll find in this country.
What D.C. has an increasing amount of is homeless camping in whatever random green space is available incl. right next to federal buildings and tourist sights. It's increasingly similar to California cities that way, which is unfortunate.
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