From the National League of Cities:

Understanding encampments for more compassionate and effective solutions

Without sufficient resources to shelter and house the growing population of unhoused people, the number of encampments has grown in cities nationwide. Community responses to encampments varies and is dependent upon competing priorities of a diverse group of stakeholders, including encampment residents, business owners, public health and safety officials, community residents and advocates. Understanding both the reasons why individuals experiencing homelessness live in encampments and how servicing encampments can advance a city’s homelessness response is central to developing a more compassionate and effective local government approach to encampments.

The original “brief” is designed for 11″ x 17″ paper (two normal pages each). I have created an easier-to-read version here: https://friendsoftheunsheltered.org/wp-content/uploads/National-League-of-Cities-Overview-of-Homeless-Encampments-Brief.pdf. The original can be found at https://www.nlc.org/resource/an-overview-of-homeless-encampments/.