Recognizing the deep-seated need many people share for a sense of home, we employ autoethnography to illustrate how those who are homeless can make homelike places within public spaces. By revisiting and reflexively analyzing various accounts of homelessness as experienced by one of the authors, we show that home can be made through (a) re-appropriating public spaces, (b) harnessing feelings of safety, and (c) interacting with others. We conclude by discussing how this homemaking process not only reinforces the claim that many people desire home, but also motivates us to think about the ways in which public spaces might cater to this desire in an era of urban renewal.
