Sport, Urban Neoliberalism, and the Politics of Homelessness

This book explores the 21st‑century practices of using sport and physical activity to engage with social issues and inequalities.

Based on two years of ethnographic research exploring and contextualizing one not‑for‑profit organization, Back on My Feet, which uses running to empower those experiencing homelessness in cities across the United States, and including interviews and participant observation, this book takes a critical look at how this organization fits within wider historical dynamics of urban homelessness, race, and neoliberalism in the United States. Arguing that such programs and interventions can unintentionally reinforce the systems that create homelessness, this book closely examines aspects of the work of Back on My Feet and similar organizations, including how sport and physical activity can help participants foster identities beyond “homeless,” how such programs fit within urban change and homeless discourses, the experiences of both recovery participants and volunteers, and the tension between helping individuals and addressing systemic issues.

Empirically rich and challenging some long‑eld assumptions about the social role of sport and physical activity‑ed interventions, this is fascinating reading for any advanced student, researcher, practitioner, or policymaker working in sport studies and development, cultural studies, urban studies, or political science.