Summary Of Camping For Their Lives By Scott Brnesford

Have you ever been on a lifetime camping trip? Many people living in the American West faced this journey everyday. In the selection "Camping for Their Lives" by Scott Bransford he discusses how tent cities are growing throughout the American West. Scott Bransford selection appeared in Utne Reader excerpted from the article "Tarp Nation". Bransford refers to tent cities residents are doing "time travel" back to the economic distress like The Great Depression, Gold-Rush squatter camps, Dust Bowl years (Brandsford ,2009, p. 387). Brandsford purpose is to inform his audience about homelessness in the American West. The overall tone is unhappy and sympathetic. Throughout the selection Bransford shows strengths and weaknesses when trying to achieve purpose, tone, and credibility.
His credible sources help make his point more believable. For instance Frank Lynch who is the self-proclaimed mayor of Taco Flat (Bransford , 2009, p. 387). Lynch is a credible source because he deals with living in a Taco Flat everyday. Also he could not find construction work and brings up when his father went through the same thing, during the Dust Bowl. In the text it states, "It's just going back to the same thing, I remember my grandparents and my dad talking about labor camps and going into town to work"(p.387) . He supports his point that the economy is doing "time travel". Other source is Rahul Mehrotra who has an architectural firm in Mumbai, India. To describe the similarities between Taco Flats and squatter settlements in Mumbai. He states "It's really a reflection of the government's inability to provide housing affordably across society"(p.388). Mehrotra and Bransford both feel as if the government should do more so that residents can afford housing. Both Mehrotra and Lynch contributed to Bransford