On Sept. 16, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell signed three bills that make it a misdemeanor (punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a maximum $1,000 fine) to sit or lie on sidewalks in the bustling tourist district of Waikiki and outlaw relieving oneself in public islandwide.
Homeless advocates say the new laws unfairly target Hawaii’s most vulnerable residents, especially since Waikiki has only one 24-hour public restroom in the crowded district.
— Al Jazeera
In a 2014 report, Hawaii was ranked as the state with highest population of homeless residents, who provoke the ire of local businesses. Some opponents of the new law claim it breaks the traditional "law of the splintered paddle," introduced by King Kamehameha circa 1797. The law states: “Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety."
This is just a recent example of a growing trend of criminalizing homelessness in the US. For more information about such laws, as well as design solutions intended to circumvent them, read our coverage here. For design innovations particularly oriented around the lack of public bathroom facilities, click here.
4 Comments
Good. It's about time.
Great idea. Throw people who can't afford the fine into jail at taxpayer expense.
It costs less to build housing for the homeless than it does to put them in prison.
Does "criminalizing homelessness" mean making it illegal for a city to allow any of its citizens to be unhoused? I'm all for it!
Step up, Honolulu, and make sure every person has a safe place to live. If you don't, we citizens will hold you accountable.
"But members of the business community, like Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, support the measures. “There has been a remarkable improvement,” he said. “A number of people on Kalakaua Avenue that were staking out and panhandling visitors — they’re gone.”
He said the concentration of Hawaii’s tourism industry in Waikiki made the district a “target-rich environment” for homeless people looking to receive money from visitors.
He acknowledged the importance of policies that help those unable to take care of themselves but stressed, “We want to make sure that homeless people understand we’re not going to let them take over Waikiki’s public spaces.”
Right, a membership only business association, gets to have more say about public spaces, than do "homeless people", because, well, fuck them. I think the homeless should start their own membership only association, and protest these assholes.
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