America's Tent Cities

“All over the country, in the last few years, police have moved in on the tent cities of the homeless, one by one, from Seattle to Wooster, Sacramento to Providence, in raids that often leave the former occupants without even their minimal possessions. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, last summer, a charity outreach worker explained the forcible dispersion of a local tent city by saying, ‘The city will not tolerate a tent city. That’s been made very clear to us. The camps have to be out of sight.’”
 — “Homelessness is not a side issue unconnected to plutocracy and greed.” Although don’t remind Jersey gov Chris Christie about his plans to help the residents of Camden’s four tent cities. (FOUR.) Meanwhile, Seattle has legalized tent cities when they’re run by religious institutions. The only tent city in America that was even fairly well-resolved was the encampment of convicted sex offenders, who were legislated out of living anywhere else.