How Ten Global Cities Take on Homelessness: Innovations that Work

This book takes on perhaps the most formidable issue facing metropolitan areas today: the large numbers of people experiencing homelessness within cities. Four dedicated experts with first-hand experience profile ten cities—Bogota, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Houston, Nashville, New York City, Baltimore, Edmonton, Paris, and Athens—to explore ideas, strategies, successes, and failures. Together they bring an array of government, nonprofit, and academic perspectives to offer a truly global perspective. The authors answer essential questions about the nature and causes of homelessness and analyze how cities have used innovation and local political coordination to address this pervasive problem.

Ten Global Cities will be an invaluable resource not only for students of policy and social work but for municipal, regional, and national policymakers; nonprofit service providers; community advocates and activists; and all citizens who want to collaborate for real change. These authors argue that homelessness is not an insurmountable social condition, and their examples show that cities and individuals working in coordination can lead the charge for better outcomes.

“Homelessness is an international crisis, and city leaders are on the front lines of it. Real progress is possible ––the authors helped us prove that in New York – and this important new book shares their hard-earned insights and invaluable experience, which can benefit cities around the world.” –– Michael Bloomberg

“Our story is one of capturing the passions of every Parisian to tackle homelessness. This book shows how the heart can combine with evidence and accountability to solve this human tragedy.” –– Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris

“Houston’s success in tackling homelessness has been through strategic partnerships working towards a common goal of permanent supportive housing. The stories here make clear that without commitment and collaboration, there is no solution to homelessness.” –– Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston

Muzzy Rosenblatt is Chief Executive Officer and President of Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC), a nonprofit organization committed to bringing stability and dignity to nearly 10,000 homeless and at-risk individuals each year in New York City.

Tamiru Mammo is a consultant manager of Social Services at Bloomberg Associates, where he has led homeless reform efforts in US and international cities. Previously, he worked as a health advisor in New York City’s Mayor’s Office and as Chief of Staff to the President of NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation.

Kristin Misner-Gutierrez is a consultant living in Seattle and a contributing writer to How Ten Global Cities Take on Homelessness. She spent over fifteen years working in New York City government where she was the Deputy Commissioner for Supportive Housing and the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services.

Moderator John King is The San Francisco Chronicle’s urban design critic, taking stock of everything from Salesforce Tower to public spaces and homeless navigation centers. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of two books on San Francisco architecture, King joined The Chronicle in 1992 and covered City Hall before creating his current post in 2001. He spent the spring of 2018 as a Mellon Fellow in Urban Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Mechanics' Institute, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, United States