HOBOhemia

The project examines the temporal and spatial dimensions of homelessness in relation to the socio-urban conditions of post-socialist cities. It aims to analyse life trajectories, everyday practices, and patterns of mobility among people experiencing homelessness in two Czech urban contexts. By foregrounding time, space, and routine as analytical lenses, the project moves beyond static accounts of homelessness to capture its dynamic, processual character. The study is innovative in several respects. It represents the first comparative investigation of homelessness in the Czech Republic and addresses dimensions that have so far received little systematic attention, including the temporal organisation of daily life and the spatial rhythms of survival. By engaging participants across diverse forms and situations of homelessness, the project offers a nuanced perspective on the internal heterogeneity and shifting boundaries of homeless populations. Methodologically, the project combines advanced quantitative and qualitative approaches. It is among the first in Europe to employ GPS tracking to empirically analyse everyday mobility, and it introduces Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) to homelessness research in the Czech context. Survey data and structured interviews are complemented by ethnography and participatory visual methods, including photovoice. A central feature of the design is the active involvement of people experiencing homelessness as research participants and co-producers of data. Beyond its analytical contributions, the project generates an original visual and spatial archive documenting everyday life on the street, providing rare empirical insight into the lived geographies of homelessness in post-socialist cities.