Tents line the sidewalk on North Sacramento Avenue in Chicago, private sleeping quarters abutting the public way. Park space is designed intentionally for recreation, with thought given to accessibility and novelty. The problem with tents in public space is that the parks and sidewalks weren’t designed for them.
The General Assembly is considering House Bill 1429, which would prohibit cities from fining or arresting people for “life-sustaining activities” such as “lying down, sleeping, protecting oneself from the elements, eating, drinking and storing such personal property as needed to shelter oneself.” It also states that cities can “maintain public access to a property or address serious and imminent risks to public health and safety.” While the bill doesn’t specifically allow tents, a broad interpretation might prevent the city from sweeping an encampment. At first glance, this seems like a good thing.
Tent sweeps, in which the government removes tents from public areas, are a human rights concern. People should not be punished for existing in public when they have no private space to go to. When encampments are cleared, people are forced to move and often lose what little they own, many times simply setting up again a few blocks away. It becomes a cycle of displacement that is costly and destabilizing. The bill’s good is in allowing people who are unhoused to exist in public spaces and protecting them from tent sweeps, but it should make clear the restrictions on that public space given that parks are designed for recreation.
Parks are intentionally designed with pathways, signage and landscaping to be a setting for recreation, activities and programming. These uses are hindered when people set up tents in those spaces. If pedestrians and park users stop using the sidewalks or visiting the park altogether, then the park fails to deliver on its mission of fostering recreation. Additionally, cities put a lot of resources into maintaining parks.
Parks have many moving pieces, and HB1429 complicates the city’s job without offering additional support.
The fundamental question that lawmakers should answer is: What are the minimum living conditions that a government must provide to its people?
I experienced homelessness firsthand in Seattle. I first lived in a tent encampment and later an indoor shelter. I think a system to end homelessness should expand campgrounds, improve shelters and create large, diverse developments.
Many unhoused people resort to public camping. Instead of allowing this free-for-all, Illinois should create a system to manage it. Campgrounds exist at the private, state and federal levels, so they are feasible. When designed well, they provide drainage, water, toilets, showers, trash service, access and security, creating comfortable, sanitary and safe conditions. Illinois shouldn’t let anyone live in awful conditions. People are camping in cities, and lawmakers should support cities’ management of that situation.
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The current shelter system isn’t working because there are barriers to entry, such as restrictions on couples, children, pets and drug use. Beyond this, shelters are often located away from food, toilets, showers and laundry, creating a regular need for people to leave. One solution to explore is to create a variety of shelters, each with an accountability and grievance system. This allows shelters to accept people more easily because they can also remove people if a problem arises. Shelters can also offer more resources if they have stricter obligations.
Illinois should organize and improve the shelter system as part of new legislation.
The exit from homelessness is a home. Illinois has seen several affordable housing projects built, but the process is slow, and there aren’t enough units. By building multiple projects, each at scale, housing can go up quickly, and costs can fall dramatically. Subsidized units should also be included in diverse-income developments that incorporate housing, business and community services. People exit homelessness by being part of a community.
When I was homeless, I saw fighting, sexual harassment and drug use. Still, more people wanted to get into the shelter. The shelter was an incentive for people to improve their social behavior.
Illinois needs to do more than let unhoused people exist. HB1429 should outline what a basic right to housing is and what the public right to park space is. Lawmakers should also create a diverse shelter system that brings more people in and encourage affordable units be built as part of diverse-income, mixed-zoning developments.
Jeremy Wolff is a Chicago native and urban design writer at urbanwolf.app. He has spent two decades as a nanny, camp counselor and indoor-playground entrepreneur, and he recently navigated tent encampments and shelters with his dog.
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