It Was The Best Of Cities, Worst Of Cities

Jon Henley considers the extent of homelessness in the struggling capital of Greece and the prosperous Bavarian financial center:

These are, plainly, very different cities in very different countries, facing – at this point in history – very different fortunes. But for very different reasons, both are currently confronting a problem that, it seems, even the world’s wealthiest cities cannot shake. “Homelessness,” says Ivan Juric of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation – a major philanthropic donor that funds nearly 50 rigorously selected social programs for homeless and near-homeless people in Athens – “does not reflect a city’s socio-economic status.” … Fueled by economic meltdown, the near-collapse of most state provision and a widespread official unwillingness to seek more creative solution with what few resources remain, Greece’s homelessness problem looks set to get a lot worse before it starts getting any better. In Munich, a booming economy, growing population and rising rents are combining with a chronic shortage of affordable housing (and of land to build it on) to push a highly efficient, enviably funded homelessness program to breaking-point – with much the same consequences.

(Photo of homeless man in Athens by Flickr user Alexcoitus)