The Homeless Vehicle was tested and used by homeless people in New York and Philadelphia. Created in response to a growing number of homeless people, approaching 100,000 in New York City in the late 1980s, the vehicle was meant to combine practical and symbolic functions, offering strategies of survival to homeless people while calling into question the economic and political systems responsible for their marginalization. For Wodiczko, this project is an example of what he calls “scandalous functionalism,” since it responds to needs whose existence is a social and political scandal.

Made of aluminum, steel mesh, sheet metal, and plexiglas, the vehicle’s construction has been associated with constructivist functionalism and military technology used as an “anti-anti-homeless device.”

Made in consultation with actual homeless persons and modified according to their suggestions, the vehicle offered mobility and security. As a means of transportation and shelter, it was designed so as to provide scavengers with a sleeping space; as a survival-supporting device, it was adapted to the easy collection and storage of bottles and cans. When folded, the vehicle could be used as a cart for collecting refundable cans and bottles.

In their description of the project, Krzysztof Wodiczko and David V. Lurie listed its following characteristics:

Mobility:

• A simple suspension system, larger wheels, and other adjustments to facilitate increased maneuverability over curbs, potholes, and steps.

Safety:

• A simple brake system both for slopes and for parking while resting or sleeping.
• An emergency escape system in case of fire or attack.
• A lock and alarm system to protect collected goods and personal property.
• Rearview mirrors and emergency signals to protect against traffic.

Variants:

• Versions of the vehicle responding to the needs of various users, in particular those of women scavengers.
• Transformation of the vehicle into a vendor’s cart for selling found goods, such as clothing, magazines, etc.
• Assembling vehicles in groups as collective habitats or defensive encampments against police harassment.

[Originally published in Krzysztof Wodiczko, Łódź, Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi, 1992]

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As published on the Krzysztof Wodiczko website