National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: SUMMARY
Page 5
Suggested Citation:"I. INTRODUCTION." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Encampments of Unhoused Individuals in Transportation Rights-of-Way: Laws and State DOT Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26739.
×
Page 5

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

NCHRP LRD 87 5 2. The authorized use of the transportation right-of-way for shelters for people experiencing homelessness and social services to assist transportation agencies in addressing safety, health, and public welfare issues and the ability of transportation agencies to control their right-of-way. This digest further provides a comprehensive overview of the types of legal claims against transportation agencies that involve prevention or removal of encampments for people experienc- ing homelessness from the transportation right-of-way and the authorized use of the transportation right-of-way for shelters for unsheltered populations. B. Study Approach The research team conducted the research project according to a work plan consisting of four tasks: the development of a report outline, a review of the literature and an analysis of case and statutory/regulatory law, a survey of DOT officials, and the development of a draft research report and a final research re- port. Researchers conducted the following activities to meet the objectives of the project: • Analyzed federal laws, rules, and regulations that affect transportation agencies’ practices, procedures, and policies for prevention and removal of unauthorized access to the right-of-way and authorized use of the right-of-way for shelters for unsheltered populations. • Analyzed legal claims against transportation agencies that involve prevention or removal of encampments for people experiencing homelessness from the transporta- tion right-of-way and the authorized use of the transpor- tation right-of-way for shelters. • Surveyed all U.S. state DOTs to determine state DOT prac- tices, procedures, and policies for prevention and removal of unauthorized access to the right-of-way and authorized use of the right-of-way for shelters. • Analyzed the laws of all applicable states to determine each state’s statutory and regulatory authority with respect to prevention and removal of unauthorized access to the right- of-way and authorized use of the right-of-way for shelters. • Collected and analyzed the local ordinances of 11 metro- politan areas identified during Task  1 and the survey in Task 2. • Interviewed DOTs or major U.S. metropolitan agencies to determine local practices, procedures, and policies for pre- vention and removal of unauthorized access to the right-of- way and authorized use of the right-of-way for shelters. Researchers invited all voting members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Right of Way, Utilities, and Outdoor Advertising Control and the AASHTO Committee on Mainte- nance to participate in the survey. Researchers complemented results produced by the survey with information collected through interviews with select DOTs with experiences or inno- vative practices that were of interest to this project. pruning or clearing of brush, trimming of trees, and mowing of grass. State DOTs also mentioned the use of structural de- signs that limit spaces for occupation, in particular with bridge abutments. To remove unsheltered encampments, state DOTs typically request assistance from law enforcement and social services agencies or homeless shelters. Some states give a posted notice, usually 10 or 30 days, or conduct outreach activities be- fore starting the removal process. Several DOTs mentioned that they are actively aligning the DOT’s policy with local jurisdiction policies, while others are reassessing policies or implementing new guidelines. A few DOTs mentioned a lack of written guidance on how to deal with the issues, mainly because unsheltered populations on the high- way right-of-way are not a frequent issue in the state. Based on survey responses, issues with unsheltered popu- lations in the right-of-way appear to be increasing all over the United States but not at an equal rate: Not every state DOT experiences significant issues with unsheltered populations in the right-of-way, and in some states the magnitude of the issue seems to be far greater than in others. States that have been in- creasingly impacted by the issue have been more proactive in adopting new legislature and new policies. However, several of these laws and policies have been or are currently being chal- lenged in court, which has resulted in modifications to the laws or settlements. I. INTRODUCTION Unsheltered populations continue to be a nationwide prob- lem throughout the United States. It is not unusual for unshel- tered individuals to establish refuge and shelter in encampments that encroach within, around, under, or upon transportation rights-of-way, including highway/freeway interchanges, over- passes, bridges, and tunnels. The responsibility for addressing encroachments involves agencies at the state and local levels depending on jurisdiction, in many cases state departments of transportation (DOTs) or local governments. State DOT officials and local communities express concern about significant social, health, safety, welfare, law enforcement, and management issues. Removal of unauthorized encamp- ments can result in significant legal issues, including claims of illegal search and seizure based on the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, claims of cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, viola- tion of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and violation of free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. A. Project Purpose and Objectives The objective of NCHRP Project 20-06/Topic 25-04 was to produce a digest that documents the laws, statutes, cases, pro- cedures, policies, and other resources governing or addressing: 1. A transportation agency’s prevention and removal of encamp ments for people experiencing homelessness from the transportation right-of-way.

Next: II. LEGAL ISSUES AND GUIDANCE RELATED TO THE USE OF RIGHT-OF-WAY BY UNSHELTERED POPULATIONS AND FOR SHELTERS »
Encampments of Unhoused Individuals in Transportation Rights-of-Way: Laws and State DOT Practices Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Economic, social, and other factors cause a continuous increase in populations who are unsheltered throughout the United States. It is not unusual for individuals who are unhoused to establish refuge and shelter in encampments that encroach within, around, under, or upon transportation rights-of-way, including but not limited to highway/freeway interchanges, overpasses, bridges, and tunnels.

The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Legal Research Digest 87: Encampments of Unhoused Individuals in Transportation Rights-of-Way: Laws and State DOT Practices documents the laws, statutes, cases, procedures, policies, and other resources governing transportation rights-of-way.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!