Tent Cities

It seems,

Homeless encampments dubbed "tent cities" are springing up across the US, partly in response to soaring numbers of home repossessions, the credit crunch and rising unemployment.

This picture from the article, taken outside Reno says it all.

Copyright: AP

Of course they are nice polyester or Gore-tex tents and not like jhopdas (ramshackle huts) one sees in India or other 3rd world countries.... but this is one 3rd world like image that I didn't expect to see in the US. Homeless, yes... (I see many homeless in Boston)... but not so many of them forming a minor community of their own like this.

But this is not an isolated incident in Reno or other Nevada cities, which have been hit amongst the hardest in the subprime crisis.

In California, the upmarket city of Santa Barbara is housing homeless people who live in their cars in city car parks while Fresno, has several tent cities. Others have sprung up in Portland in Oregon, and Seattle, where homeless activists have set up mock tent cities at city hall to draw attention to the problem.

Meanwhile, new encampments have appeared, or existing ones grown, in San Diego, Chattanooga in Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio.

So, how many houses do you have, Mr. McCain? (Ok...disingenuous and not really related to the question at hand maybe!)

[Thanks to Nikhil Mehra for pointing this article to me via email.]