This is a list of notable tent cities in the United States. A tent city is an encampment or housing facility made using tents or other temporary structures.
West Coast
Side Street in Dignity Village, Portland, OregonThe former Right 2 Dream Too camp in Portland, Oregon
Long Beach, California: As of April 2021, one is located near Interstate 405 and 710 freeways.[10] In September 2008, five people were shot dead at a homeless encampment near the present-day one near 405 in what is known to be one of the most deadliest acts of violence against the homeless community. In 2018, two gang members were found guilty and sentenced to life without parole. One victim was killed due to a drug disagreement; the other four witnessed the murder and were killed for this reason.[11]
Los Angeles and in general Los Angeles County is home to many encampments, which are heavily based in Downtown Los Angeles, Fashion District, Hollywood, Skid Row, Venice Beach, and Westlake. An estimated 40,000 homeless live in L.A. and up to 70,000 countywide. The encampments on Venice Beach started to be cleared out in late July 2021, with some tents and property of homeless residents still in process of being moved. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti signed a bill to criminalize homeless sleeping and taking up shelter in certain areas of the city; this led to riots and protests at his house with 50 protesters, and a rock was thrown at his house.
San Francisco has at least 8,000 sheltered and/or homeless population, 1% of SF's population. Homeless encampments have sprouted and are more common in the areas of SoMa, Tenderloin, and have stayed in front of the San Francisco City Hall and areas throughout the city.
San Jose, California: The Jungle was at its time one of the largest homeless encampments in the US before the spike in the homeless tent usage throughout North America in the late 2010s. In 2013, it had 175 people.[19][20] Other encampments in San Jose include the one on Berryessa and McKee, which is visible from space.[21]
San Diego has multiple homeless camps. In March 2021, a truck driver plowed into an encampment in Downtown San Diego, killing 3 homeless men and wounding six others; the driver was arrested for manslaughter and DUI.[22]
Santa Cruz, California: There are about 1,200 to 1,700 homeless in Santa Cruz, 3.5% of the city; many had lived or are living in Ross Camp[24] (200 people) and San Lorenzo Park (up to 300 people; closed in late 2022[25]).
Santa Rosa, California: There is only one encampment with four or more tents/structures: located by a church and small shopping district near Sebastopol Road and South Wright Road. There was one on 4th Street in front of the Chelino's Mexican Restaurant parking lot, and on-and-off settlement on Morgan Street and Industrial Drive. Doyle Community Park, Fremont Park. Joe Rodota Trail, and Homeless Hill are defunct or have occasional settlement.
Denver: Denver has many homeless encampments that either have existed or currently exist or in same spots, including those in RiNo, and one that shut down there in November 2020[38]Woodstock West was one.
Austin, Texas banned homeless camping in April 2021. Homeless camps, as of May, exist in Austin including one on Lady Bird Trail. In May 2021, the camping ban was reinstated after a ballot proposition was approved by voters. The ban introduces potential penalties for camping, sitting, or lying down on a public sidewalk and outdoors in Downtown Austin or the area around the University of Texas campus.[48]
Jacksonville, Florida had a significant tent city downtown, until it was dispersed in March 2021. Smaller homeless tent cities or tents may exist in Jacksonville.
New York City: One in Elmhurst, Queens as of July 2020,[58] and Occupy City Hall[59] They were reported in Chelsea, Manhattan and Bushwick, Brooklyn according to a 2020 NBC article. The three other boroughs reported them during this summer of 2020.[60] There is a tent city in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where a woman was protecting a friend near a tent city, where a homeless man became enraged after suspecting that the two got close to his tent, making him nervous. He then stabbed the woman, 40, who was not a resident of the tent city or believed to be homeless, to death.[61]
