Accessibility to Public Spaces: Intersections Between the Courts and the Houseless Community

In an attempt to answer the question of what role the judiciary played in affecting access to public spaces from the 1960's to 2024, this thesis identifies an accumulation of patterns relating to the courts' role in accessibility of public parks and their amenities over this time period. The data supplied for this question is drawn from scholars focusing on judicial decisions and political theory relating to public spaces, including those mentioned above. The result of this study will include a close examination of the role the judiciary holds as a cornerstone institution in not only our democracy, but in shaping future accessibility to public amenities. By establishing modern tests of constitutionality used by the courts and applied to the government, I argue the courts play an exceptionally important role, albeit quieter than the legislative or executive branches in access to public spaces. Particularly when looking at cases examining public spaces and the First, Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, the primary objective of this research is to analyze these court rulings to further understand the impact of these decisions. This thesis ultimately identifies how the courts have been active in deciding on the limits of public space accessibility for the houseless community.