Dispatches from the Neoliberal City: City beautification for some & life threatening for others.
In recent weeks, the City of Philadelphia has been providing new sidewalk trash bins around Center City, for the beautification of our most trafficked neighborhoods. Some question the trash bins on aesthetic grounds, and others hail the new receptacles as an important element of the effort to beautify Philadelphia while making it environmentally conscious. While these are noble pursuits, there is another more telling aspect to Philadelphia's new trash bins, they are made to be homeless proof.
On each of these wonderful "state of the art" trash bins, there is a safety latch, which effectively stops people from rummaging through the garbage to look for collectible cans or edible food. The obvious consequence of these new environmentally conscious trash cans is that those who are suffering the grim costs of a neoliberal city--with massive unemployment, growing rates of poverty and a failed educational system--no longer have the option of scavenging through the garbage to survive. Oh, beautiful Philadelphia.
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