This City Might Give Homeless People the Right to Camp Anywhere

Governing: Jerry Burton has lived in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood here for the past few months, in an orange tent pitched on a sidewalk. He and the other homeless campers on the block — Burton proudly calls the encampment “Jerr-E-Ville,” and has declared himself the unofficial mayor — are defying the city’s urban camping ban, which means they are always bracing for a visit from the police.

A caseworker from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to find permanent housing for the 57-year-old Marine Corps veteran whose tent is surrounded by his belongings neatly arranged in small plastic bags.

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