Urban characteristics and homelessness in Bucharest

Urban poverty continues to prove itself a concern in cities’ territorial planning as it disrupts the quality of life and the development process in some cities. Homelessness emerges sometimes as extreme urban poverty even in developed European Union countries. The study assesses Bucharest urban space to differentiate characteristics that influence the homeless to locate in certain places. The analysis included a three-level urban space categorization. Functional types of space were correlated to homelessness presence according to three space characteristics: property type, physical structure and state of use. The main findings argue that homeless people localization in Bucharest depends on urban space capacity to meet homelessness housing and living needs. Analysis’ conclusions evidence homeless location patterns to urban planners and authorities that may use the information to improve policies and actions to alleviate extreme poverty in Bucharest.