In the Article, Margaret Morton explains to us the importance of a home. A home is something that isn’t permanent or stable at all. Instead a home is something that can cause us to feel as if we are at home. Taking into consideration that homeless people make a home for themselves proves that homes are not something that has a door and four windows.

Morton describes how Homeless people aren’t actually “homeless” they do make a home for themselves. They’re homes are in the streets as well as in parks, under bridges, etc. The streets are home to them. To call them homeless is technically incorrect. Margret explains to us how identity is tied together with one’s place of home. This statement I believe is true, for us humans are tied to our environment, where we live usually affects how we grow up. If we live in a bad neighborhood you grow up to be one of two things. Either you grow up wanting more then the negativity, or you grow up wanting a better life for yourself and your future family. However if you live in a good environment you may see the world as nothing but good and be ignorant to what the world is actually like in the outside. The other option of course could be that you grow up wanting people to be just as happy as you, and shape the world into a better one. These of course are just examples, human beings choose their own decisions. Although environment does contribute to how you want to see the world. And that environment is found in none other than where you live, and where you call home.

Morton argues that the idea of homelessness is flawed. The homeless do indeed build they’re own homes wherever they find fit. What they lack however is stability. However the homeless and the ones with a home both lack stability. Morton says that we forget that even the people who have homes don’t own the property. The only difference according to Morton is the awareness of vulnerability between the homeless and those who aren’t called homeless.

Domestic architect is another part of self identity mentioned in the reading. Domestic architect is a practical form of art that is a new understanding of structural design. The word itself defines homelessness in a new perspective. Homeless people are seen as connected to the land in a non-charitable way. Instead they care for the environment without the mindset of getting something in return for it. They have self made gardens, as well as owning they’re own pets. They don’t have to take care of any other creature but choose to do so even if they can’t feed themselves. They’re gardens aren’t ornamented or have the best water filtering system, but they still have they’re own little way of growing things for the environment. They may not have four walls to cover themselves but they have made a home where they can do normal home related activities.

Bibliography

NERSESSOVA, IRINA. “Tapestry Of Space: Domestic Architecture And Underground Communities In Margaret Morton’s Photography Of A Forgotten New York.” Disclosure 23 (2014): 26. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.