Living on the Streets 流落街頭
West Coast cities have booming economies but neighborhoods that are filled with homeless people. Why？ Here's everything you need to know:
A tragic paradox is on display in Los Angeles and San Francisco: Their economies are vibrant， and legions of wealthy young professionals spend small fortunes on food， cars， and other consumer goods. Yet in some neighborhoods， people live as if in Third World slums. In L.A.， tent cities line freeway underpasses， armies of rats stoke fears of disease， and thousands of homeless people share a dozen toilets. In San Francisco， drug needles and garbage line the streets， and the city employs four full-time workers to sweep up feces. Throughout the nation， according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development， the homeless population has been relatively stable in recent years， with about 550，000 Americans living without homes. California accounts for 12 percent of the U.S. population but a quarter of its homeless， and it's getting worse: Los Angeles County's homeless population jumped 12 percent this year， to nearly 59，000， while San Francisco's homeless count grew 17 percent over the past two years， to about 8，000 — nearly 1 percent of the city's population.
Homelessness is a complex phenomenon with many causes， including mental illness and drug addiction. But the primary factor in California is the skyrocketing cost of housing. Over the past six years in L.A.， the median household income grew 23 percent， while the median rent increased 67 percent. In those circumstances， an unexpected cost or job loss can quickly result in people failing to pay the rent and landing on the street. For every 2 percent increase in L.A. rent， 4，227 people are likely to become homeless， according to the real estate database Zillow.
Drug abuse can be either a cause or a consequence of homelessness. Some people lose jobs and homes because of addiction， while others land on the street first and become drug abusers to blot out the shame and misery of their lives. That's why dealers brazenly target homeless encampments. In Seattle， city officials say that the majority of homeless people are hooked on opioids. Among the unsheltered， 80 percent are believed to have a substance-abuse disorder. In Los Angeles， some homeless people smoke crystal meth to stay awake at night so they can fend off thieves and assailants. San Francisco employs a crew to pick up used syringes 12 hours a day， collecting more than 140，000 in the past year.
Municipalities already are spending a lot of money on the problem. Private and public organizations in the Seattle metro area spend $1 billion each year fighting homelessness — nearly $88，000 for every homeless person. Last year Los Angeles spent $619 million to bring 20，000 people off the streets， largely thanks to a sales tax passed in 2017. A year earlier， L.A. voters overwhelmingly approved raising property taxes to generate$1.2 billion for 10，000 new housing units. Willingness to spend， however， is half the battle. Building low-income housing always generates powerful 「not in my backyard」 opposition among existing homeowners， who fear it will hurt their property values. But without many more affordable apartments， homelessness can't be reduced.
Business owners in Los Angeles are adopting aggressive tactics to keep the homeless away from camping out near their front doors. Some are putting large arrays of cactus plants， thorny rosebushes， and even metal spikes on the sidewalks. In cities plagued by street dwellers， 「hostile architecture」 is increasingly used to drive the homeless away: benches with extra armrests to prevent lying down， boulders placed under bridges， grates raised off the ground. Chris Homandberg， an activist for the homeless in L.A.， says getting people 「out of sight」 does nothing to fix the problem.
西海岸城市經濟繁榮，但一些街區儘是無家可歸者。為什麼呢？下面是你需要知道的一切：
一種可悲的矛盾情形正在洛杉磯和舊金山呈現：它們的經濟生機勃勃，大批富有的年輕職業人士在食品、汽車和其他消費品上出手闊綽。但在一些街區，人們卻仿佛生活在第三世界的貧民窟。在洛杉磯，高速公路地下通道兩旁搭起了「帳篷城」，一群群老鼠引發人們對疾病傳播的擔憂，成千上萬無家可歸者共用十幾個廁所。在舊金山，毒品注射針頭和垃圾遍布街邊，該市僱用了四名全職工人來清理大小便。住房和城市發展部稱，在全國範圍內，近年來無家可歸人口相對穩定，約有55萬美國人居無定所。加利福尼亞人口佔美國的12%，但無家可歸人口佔全國的四分之一，而且情況正變得更糟：洛杉磯縣的無家可歸者今年猛增12%達到近5.9萬人，而舊金山的無家可歸人數近兩年增加了17%達到約8000人——接近該市人口的1%。
無家可歸是一個複雜現象，原因眾多，包括精神疾病和藥物成癮。但在加利福尼亞州，主要因素是住房費用不斷飆升。近六年來，洛杉磯的家庭收入中位數增長了23%，而房租中位數增長了67%。在這種情況下，意外開支或失業會很快導致人們付不起房租，從而流落街頭。據齊洛房地產資料庫公司統計，洛杉磯房租每上漲2%，就很可能有4227人變得無家可歸。
藥物濫用與無家可歸可能會互為因果。一些人因嗑藥成癮失去了工作和住所，另一些人則是先流落街頭，然後為了忘記自己生活中的恥辱和痛苦而開始濫用藥物。這就是為什麼藥販子會無恥地盯上無家可歸者的營地。在西雅圖，市政官員說，大多數無家可歸者都對阿片類藥物上癮。在露宿街頭者中，有80%的人據信患有藥物濫用障礙。在洛杉磯，一些無家可歸者在夜間吸食結晶甲基安非他命來保持清醒，這樣他們就能抵擋竊賊和襲擊者。舊金山僱用了一班工作人員，每天花12個小時撿用過的注射器，過去一年的收集數量超過14萬支。
市政當局已在這個問題上投入重金。西雅圖都會區的私營和公共機構每年為解決無家可歸問題花費10億美元——平均為每個無家可歸者花費近8.8萬美元。2018年，為讓兩萬人不再流浪街頭，洛杉磯花費了6.19億美元，這主要靠的是2017年通過的一項銷售稅。一年前，洛杉磯選民以壓倒性多數同意提高房產稅，以籌集12億美元，用於建造1萬套新住房。然而，願意投入資金只成功了一半。建造保障性住房總會在現有房主中引發強烈的「別在我家後院」的反對情緒，他們擔心這會損害他們的房產價值。但如果不大量增加平價公寓，無家可歸者就不可能減少。
洛杉磯企業主們正採取激進策略，不讓無家可歸者在其前門附近露宿。一些企業主在人行道上擺放了大量仙人掌科植物、多刺的玫瑰叢、甚至是金屬尖釘。在受露宿街頭者困擾的城市，「不友好建築設計」正越來越多地用於趕走無家可歸者：為防人們躺下而多加了扶手的長凳，橋下的大石頭，離地的格柵。洛杉磯無家可歸者維權活動家克裡斯·霍曼德伯格說，讓人們「離開視線」無助於解決問題。（李莎譯自美國《一周》周刊網站8月4日文章）