The 2013 Seattle Vehicle Residency Research Program

This year's program offers weekly instruction on the history of vehicle residency in the western world, starting from a broad view of the subject in the 1800s and narrowing to the current study areas. We use an anthropologic and ethnoarchaeological perspective, using ethnographic and historic texts and videos on “homelessness” and poverty in North America. 

Students are offered the opportunity to participate in a weekly community meal with members of the vehicle resident community, so they can meet our unsheltered research collaborators in a friendly and supportive setting.

Because this program is based in field research, all Seattle University students and volunteers participate in a field study of vehicle residency throughout Seattle. Our program offers two avenues of research for students: the Population Count Project and the Demographics Project. 

• Click here to learn more about the Population Count Project. 
• Click here to learn more about the Demographics Project, 

Students have the opportunity to directly affect local policy and funding for homelessness and to learn methods of policy change. Techniques developed during our research are used to assist organizations who provide local statistics for federal funding. Data collected by student researchers is used to advise local government and service providers on where and how resources can be best applied.