Swept Off The Map

SWEPT OFF THE MAP

An investigation into the scope and scale of forced displacement of encampment residents in Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland.

By Cole Haddock & Maria Toldi
for Street Spirit

Joel Brown was raised in Oakland, CA and has lived unsheltered near China Garden Park for over a decade. In that time, he estimates that he has been displaced over 25 times by encampment closures.

“They're just trying to keep the streets clean,” Joel said of the city workers, “[but] you don't [understand that, it's like] they're attacking you.” Some encampment residents like Joel feel that the goal of these closures—often known as “sweeps”—is for them to simply be swept off the map: removed from the geography of the city altogether. “Emotionally, it just makes you feel like [you’re] just like…nothing.”

Stories like Joel’s were the inspiration for the Swept Off The Map project.

California's homelessness crisis has grown steadily in the past decade. As encampments have become more visible, so too has the public pressure to respond. Encampment sweeps—the removal of unhoused people from public spaces—have become a primary response.

Encampment sweeps intensified following the summer of 2024, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson that cities may enforce anti-camping ordinances regardless of whether shelter is available. After the ruling was announced, Governor Gavin Newsom urged officials to push forward, saying, “There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.” Many local governments responded by passing new policies that intended to make it easier for cities to close encampments quickly.

Cities describe encampment closures as efforts to restore public space, address health and sanitation conditions, and connect unhoused residents to services. Yet, it has also been extensively documented that sweeps can further destabilize unhoused people by preventing access to medical care, destroying survival resources, and cutting off community relationships. Critics say they displace unhoused people from public view without addressing the conditions that contributed to homelessness.

With funding from UC Berkeley's Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize, we spent eight months investigating the scope and scale of encampment sweeps in Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland. In all these East Bay cities, formal encampment closures, move-along orders, or local policy changes aimed at regaining control of public spaces occur routinely causing unhoused people to live in constant motion. The purpose of this project is to ensure that the reality of encampment sweeps are understood, documented and remembered at a local level.

INVESTIGATION

Governing Homelessness: Encampment Management in Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland
How three East Bay cities manage unsheltered homelessness, outlining local policies, laws, and practices, and how they play out on the ground.

Mapping Oakland Encampment Closures
An interactive map documenting four years of the city of Oakland’s encampment management practices.

ARTICLES

No Place to Park

Losing Patients

Fighting to Stay