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A Case for Homeless Shelter Networks as Basic Infrastructure

D.C.’s promising new plan would equitably distribute such facilities across the city and serve more residents.

relates to A Case for Homeless Shelter Networks as Basic Infrastructure — Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

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February 12, 2016, 4:35 PM UTC

Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C., is making serious moves on homelessness.

On Tuesday, Bowser announced detailed plans to close D.C. General Hospital by 2018, replacing the de facto homeless shelter with a system of smaller satellite shelters spread throughout the city. Seven of the city’s eight wards would receive a homeless shelter, each one with a capacity of 29-to-50 units. (A women’s shelter is already planned for Ward 2, the lone holdout in this scheme.)