A county judge ruled the city must evict people living in an encampment after local businesses and residents sued.
Last Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ordered Phoenix to remove people living in the Arizona city’s largest encampment of unhoused residents, reports Juliette Rihl for Arizona Republic.
The decision was the result of a lawsuit brought by local residents and businesses, who say the city hasn’t done enough to stop crime and other issues stemming from the encampment. Rihl adds, “The city is reviewing the court’s ruling and remains ‘committed to addressing the needs of all residents and property owners,’ said city spokesperson Kristin Couturier in an emailed statement.”
According to a local police officer, the encampment is home to between 800 to 1,000 people at any given time. The city has said it will not cite people for violating public camping laws when not enough shelter is available. Judge Blaney called the situation a “humanitarian disaster” and called on the city to “create structured campgrounds for unsheltered people,” saying there is no evidence that all residents of the encampment had no other recourse.
As homelessness grows in cities around the nation, evicting people from encampments is becoming a popular move with local officials bowing to political pressure to prevent the visual ‘blight’ of unhoused residents, but homeless advocates and critics—including a federal report—say these ‘sweeps’ are ineffective, costly, and needlessly disrupt the lives of residents.
FULL STORY: Judge orders removal of tents from Phoenix's largest homeless encampment
Portland Moves Forward With Contentious Homelessness Strategy
The city’s plan to reduce the number of unhoused people has met with criticism, particularly for a proposal to ban encampment on public property citywide.
Evaluating D.C.’s Plan to House Encampment Residents
One year into a pilot program to reduce encampments by offering housing and services to residents, almost three-quarters of participants have moved into housing.
Bend, Deschutes County Move to Restrict Major Homeless Encampment
City and county officials are closing off portions of an area known as Juniper Ridge where many unhoused residents find shelter, hoping to direct people to housing and supportive services.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?
Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.
Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?
With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.
The European Cities That Love E-Scooters — And Those That Don’t
Where they're working, where they're banned, and where they're just as annoying the tourists that use them.
Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)