Homelessness Report - Meanest Cities

According to an article in the Dallas Morning News (Free reg.), the National Coalition for the Homeless has evaluated the relative "meanness towards the homeless" of 179 American cities and issued a report ranking the 20 "meanest" cities. The top 20 are:

1. Little Rock, Ark.
2. Atlanta
3. Cincinnati
4. Las Vegas
5. Gainesville, Fla.
6. New York City
7. Los Angeles
8. San Francisco
9. Honolulu
10. Austin
11. Sarasota, Fla.
12. Key West, Fla.
13. Nashville, Tenn.
14. Berkeley, Calif.
15. Dallas
16. Fresno, Calif.
17. San Antonio
18. Milwaukee
19. St. Paul, Minn.
20. Manchester, N.H.

The rankings were determined by evaluating each city's ordinances with respect to normal behavioral characteristics of the homeless. Those cities that have laws against homeless behavior are considered mean, i.e., the more laws on the books, the "meaner" the city.

Homeless Behavioral Characteristics
- Bathing in public waters.
- Urination/defecation in public.
- Begging in particular public places.
- Aggressive panhandling.
- Sleeping in public.
- Camping in particular public places.
- Loitering/loafing in particular public places.
- Obstruction of public sidewalks.
- Entering vacant buildings.

In summary, if a city has laws to prevent vagrants from turning the community into a toilet, chances are the city will be ranked high on the "mean scale." Chances are also that the city would be a much more pleasant place to live, raise a family, and conduct business.