voltaire cart by matthew voss from usa

VOLTAIRE CART

Who decided the only income the homeless can make is through dumpster diving and begging? The homeless do not to be a perceived as a nuisance to society. If the homeless performed a useful service (not selling flags or giving car washes) they would no longer be a drag on the city. Instead of designing a shopping cart that is not a shopping cart, we should design opportunities.

How many advertisements do you wear every day? People all over the world willingly wear advertisements, and some even tattoo them to their forehead. Advertising is profitable, acceptable, and shameless. A cart plastered with advertisements could be just as profitable and require as little maintenance as a park bench.

Will a company actually advertise on a homeless cart? By itself, a homeless cart is not prime advertising space. There are already homeless in every city, however, that offer event information for money. They actively seek out crowds because they depend on disoriented tourists for their income. It is this specific group of homeless this cart is designed for.

Advertising fees alone will not sustain a person. They will still need to seek out the crowds (with their cart) to supplement their income.

The primary function of the cart is to provide shelter. To properly perform the service of advertising, the cart must remain in view during most hours of the day. Thus, the owner must be able to live without retreating to the shelter of abandoned buildings and overpasses. How do you make it acceptable for the homeless to live on the street?

This service will only work if the owner actively searches for advertisers and businesses accept possible backlash from using the homeless as advertising space. This forces the homeless to engage the city and the city to engage the homeless, keeping both in touch with society. If you spend several years outside society, can you reenter it successfully if given the opportunity?

Advertisements ravage every corner of our society, yet we accept it as the norm. Humanity cowers in the corner, and we call the police. If nothing else, this will start a debate about the limits of our insensitivity. Will we be able to accept the homeless hidden behind advertising camouflage as readily as we accept the rest?