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T H U R S D A Y

Like most of us, Margaret Morton first considered homelessness a temporary problem: the product of ill-considered mental health policy, greedy real estate dealing, and the collapse of support networks in urban life. She began her documentation of homelessness without long-term expectations, but her work soon became a full-blown exploration of an entire social, political, and economic community. In “TheArchitecture of Despair,” Morton discusses the visual and oral record she has compiled and its potential for use by architects, urban planners, sociologists, and politicians. At the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. $7. For reservations call (202) 272-2448. (AW)