A List of Tent Cities in America

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This list was compiled in 2020. To report a change in a tent city listed on this page, please contact us here.

Why are tent cities allowed in the U.S.?

Homelessness is a severe social issue in the United States. Over 552,800 people were experiencing homelessness every night during 2018. This represents a significant 0.17% of the entire population. According to reports, it hasn’t gotten any better since then. An alarming 40 percent increase occurred in major American cities during 2019. Homelessness in the U.S. results from both systemic and social barriers. Poverty, unemployment, rising rent, domestic violence, legal problems, drug abuse, alcoholism, and mental and physical illness are all significant factors.

Poverty

People living below the poverty line find it difficult to afford housing. Their poor financial condition deprives them of adequate shelter. As of 2018, the national poverty rate was 11.8 percent.

Unemployment

Unemployment might be long-term, or it may be a sudden occurrence. Either way, the person suffering from it cannot afford rent or mortgage. The resulting job insecurity leads to housing uncertainty. The unemployment rate in the U.S. stood at 13.3 percent as of May 2020.

Skyrocketing property costs

The general rise in property prices has made life even more difficult for these people. An increase in urbanization causes an increase in property demand. This is because people move to these urban centers in search of better living standards. But, this also drives prices upward. This makes it difficult for those living below the poverty line to afford housing.

Domestic Violence

Domestic abuse and violence affect people in many ways. One of these is forcing the victims to leave their homes. While they get respite from the abuse, they find themselves on the streets. Returning to their abusive relations is hardly an option. Thus, they end up spending a long time without a decent home.

Legal Problems

Prisoners awaiting trial often end up losing employment and housing, too. They have no choice but to settle for temporary shelters or drop-in centers.

Drug Abuse and Alcoholism

Drug addicts often face expulsion from their homes. Their problems with addiction make them unbearable for their family members. These individuals spend a lot on drugs, which leaves little behind for rent or mortgage. They will usually refuse to seek help with housing, despite their homelessness. Thus, their addiction problems continue without a roof over their heads.

Mental and Physical Illnesses

Victims of mental and physical illnesses face homelessness, too. Their families either can’t bear them or can’t afford treatment for them. Thus, such individuals end up living on the streets as well.

Homelessness has been rising in the U.S., and it is no wonder that tent encampments are popping up in major cities nationwide. This has given rise to the phenomenon of tent cities. A tent city is a temporary accommodation facility made using tents or some other temporary structure. Such establishments can be both legal and illegal, depending on whether the state has authorized them or not. Since they are informal settlements, they can be compared to shanty towns commonly seen in developing nations.

Across the U.S., the number of tent cities is growing. San Francisco, Washington D.C., Las Cruces, St. Louis, Honolulu, Seattle, and Indianapolis all feature encampments for the homeless. Seattle has even declared a state of emergency on homelessness. Consequently, it is expanding the scope of its legal tent cities to accommodate more homeless people. The most famous of its encampments is Tent City 3, which also happens to be the oldest sanctioned encampment in the U.S. Seattle’s example shows why tent cities are allowed in the U.S. As low-income households suffer from a lack of affordable housing units, it becomes necessary to accommodate them in a suitable place. Otherwise, people will have no choice but to fend for their lives on the streets.

Tent encampments provide homeless people a safe place to seek refuge in. They can even seek emergency services, healthcare, and employment support. For some homeless people, living in a tent is nothing more than a step towards permanent housing somewhere else. Some encampments, like Dignity Village in Oregon, even have rules and conditions in place that make them far more disciplined than some homeless shelters. Thus, tent cities are popular because they can provide autonomy, security, a sense of community, and privacy to homeless individuals and families. This is important, as in many cases, homeless shelters cannot create similar environments.

Where are tent cities in America?

Tent cities are all over the U.S., from megacities like Los Angeles to smaller cities like Lubbock. All of them have popped up as a reaction to the lack of low-income housing and inadequate conditions in many homeless shelters.

Here is a list of the most well-known tent encampments and their locations:

1. Camp Hope in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
2. Dignity Village in Portland, Oregon.
3. Camp Quixote in Olympia, Washington.
4. Camp Take Notice in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
5. Opportunity Village in Eugene, Oregon.
6. Joe Rodota Trail in Santa Rosa, California.
7. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Tent City in Phoenix, Arizona.
8. New Jack City and Little Tijuana in Fresno, California.
9. Nickelsville in Seattle, Washington.
10. Right 2 Dream Too in Portland, Oregon.
11. River Haven in Ventura County, California.
12. Safe Ground in Sacramento, California.
13. The Jungle in San Jose, California.
14. Temporary Homeless Service Area in Ontario, California.
15. Tent City holding 100+ residents in Lakewood, New Jersey.
16. Tent City in Lubbock, Texas.
17. Tent City in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.
18. Tent City on the banks of the American River in Sacramento, California.
19. Uptown Tent City in Chicago, Illinois.
20. Tent City 4 in eastern King County outside Seattle.
21. The Point, at the intersection between Gunnison River and Colorado River.
22. The Village of Hope and Community of Hope in Fresno, California.
23. Transition Park in Camden, New Jersey.
24. Tent City in Fayette County, Tennessee.
25. The Village in Oakland, California.
26. Camp Unity Eastside in Woodinville, Washington.
27. Tent City in Los Angeles, California.