The Growth and Shifting Spatial Distribution of Tent Encampments in Oakland, California

• Published date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716221994459
• Author: Ryan Finnigan
• Date: 01 January 2021
• Subject Matter: New Perspectives and Methods

284 ANNALS, AAPSS, 693, January 2021

DOI: 10.1177/0002716221994459

The Growth

and Shifting

Spatial

Distribution of

Tent

Encampments

in Oakland,

California

By

RYAN FINNIGAN

994459ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYGROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION OF TENT ENCAMPMENTS IN OAKLAND

research-article2021

Tent encampments have become an especially com-

mon form of homelessness in West Coast cities like

Oakland, California, where the number of people living

in tent encampments increased by 130 percent between

2017 and 2019. Living in tent encampments provides

residents both benefits and risks, depending on the

encampments’ location, size, and stability. Using data

from Google Street Views, I document the growth and

spatial dynamics of tent encampments in west and cen-

tral Oakland over the last decade. The number and size

of tent encampments rapidly increased between 2014

and 2019, varying widely in their stability. City inter-

ventions like the city’s outdoor transitional housing sites

displaced several large tent encampments. Combined

with overall tent encampment growth, these displace-

ments dispersed the encampments throughout nearby

neighborhoods and other parts of the city.

Keywords: homelessness; tent encampments; spatial

dynamics; displacement

The growth of tent encampments for people

experiencing homelessness has been starkly

visible in recent years. Also called “tent cities” or

“curbside communities,” tent encampments are

collections of tents or other nonpermanent

dwelling structures (e.g., sheds, trailers). Relative

to other forms of homelessness, like sheltered or

street homelessness, public and political con-

sternation about how to address encampments

in public spaces has been especially strong.

Encampments have become particularly com-

mon in West Coast cities like those in the San

Francisco Bay Area, California; Seattle,

Washington; and Sacramento, California, as have

tensions around their presence.

Ryan Finnigan is an associate professor of sociology at

the University of California, Davis. He studies the

contexts and policies shaping poverty and inequality,

both in the United States and internationally.

NOTE: The author thanks the editors for helpful

suggestions.

Correspondence: rfinnigan@ucdavis.edu

GROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION OF TENT ENCAMPMENTS IN OAKLAND 285

Tent encampments offer a mix of benefits and risks for residents (see Cohen,

Yetvin, and Khadduri [2019]; Loftus-Farren [2011] for reviews). Tent encamp-

ments can form internal communities that offer residents stability, security, and

autonomy (Sparks 2016). However, encampments also carry risks, including

health risks and potential displacement due to “sweeps” by local governments.

Many of the benefits and risks of encampment residence are structured by local

governments’ reactions, which often reflect the wishes of locally housed residents

and local businesses (Darrah-Okike et al. 2018; Herring 2014; Speer 2017;

Wasserman and Clair 2010).

Given the importance of encampments’ stability for their residents’ well-

being, this article empirically examines the spatial dynamics of tent encampments

in Oakland, California, over the last decade. Unsheltered homelessness rapidly

increased in Oakland between 2015 and 2019, and tent encampments were the

most common unsheltered living arrangement in 2019 (Applied Survey Research

[ASR] 2019). The City of Oakland has responded to tent encampments in varied

ways, including encampment sweeps and new, high-profile outdoor temporary

shelter sites. Oakland could be a useful case for understanding tent encamp-

ments in other cities with rising housing costs and economic inequality.

I examine the location, number, size, and stability of tent encampments in

Oakland using data collected from Google Street Views, images of city streets and

public areas captured by Google between 2008 and 2019. My analysis of the

resulting panel data on tent encampments connects to two of this volume’s

themes. First, I document trends in the number and size of tent encampments

within and between neighborhoods. Second, I describe how these trends

changed following interventions by the City of Oakland.

The number, size, and geographic spread of tent encampments in Oakland

grew profoundly between 2014 and 2019. I identify distinct encampment con-

centrations and describe their neighborhood contexts. Each concentration

became the site of a transitional housing program that displaced several large

encampments. The distribution of encampments notably changed both within

and between neighborhoods following these displacements, increasing the spatial

dispersion of encampments throughout the city. I conclude by discussing strate-

gies to mitigate encampment displacement.

Background and Motivation

Homelessness in Oakland, California

The growth of homelessness in Oakland is difficult to overstate. In the point-

in-time (PIT) counts—biennial censuses of literal homelessness conducted by

local government—unsheltered homelessness increased 69 percent between

2017 and 2019. Oakland’s per-capita rate of unsheltered homelessness, 7.4 per

thousand, was 11.5 times higher than the national rate in 2019 (ASR 2019; Henry

etal. 2019). Strikingly, tent encampments increased 130 percent between 2017

and 2019. Tent encampments were the most common form of homelessness in