The High Cost of Clearing Tent Cities

Late in March, authorities in Los Angeles attempted to remove a large encampment of unhoused people who had settled in tents along Echo Park Lake. Such encampments are increasingly common sights on sidewalks and beneath overpasses in U.S. cities, where the number of single adults sleeping outside surpassed the number of single adults in shelters for the first time ever in 2020. The tent city in Echo Park, which grew to encompass more than 170 tents in a “commune-like” atmosphere, turned into a high-profile symbol of L.A.’s homelessness crisis; its presence bitterly divided neighborhood residents, homeless advocates and city authorities.

But clearing the Echo Park tent city quickly blossomed into a crisis of its own: Advocates and allies showed up to defend the park against authorities looking to sweep the encampment. Law enforcement made at least 180 arrests over two nights of protests. In the wake of the incident, the Los Angeles Police Department has announced an internal review of its procedures for closing encampments. Some city officials are demanding to know how much the effort cost the city in terms of overtime, equipment and helicopter expenses.