Host cities across the US have implemented aggressive clearance campaigns to remove homeless encampments from city centers ahead of the World Cup.
Key facts
- •Atlanta’s 'Downtown Rising' program claims to have housed 500 people, though the city remains home to an estimated 3,000 unhoused individuals.
- •In January 2023, a homeless man named Cornelius Taylor was killed by a bulldozer during a street clearance in Atlanta.
- •Seattle’s mayor pledged to build 500 homes to clear city center camps, but only 50 were completed by the start of the tournament.
- •Official figures indicate there are at least 770,000 unhoused people in the United States.
- •Hundreds of bills criminalizing sleeping outside or lingering in public spaces have been passed across the US in the last two years.
As the US hosts the World Cup, cities including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Seattle have conducted sweeps to clear homeless encampments from urban areas. Local officials and city programs, such as Atlanta’s 'Downtown Rising' initiative, have aimed to move unhoused individuals away from city centers and tournament venues. Advocates and affected individuals report that these efforts have often been heavy-handed, resulting in displacement rather than consistent rehousing.
By the numbers
Clearance efforts in host cities
In Atlanta, city employees cleared Freedom Park, a location near a fan-watch area, removing tents and personal belongings. Officials described the action as routine maintenance, noting that the park was not an official encampment. Similar actions have occurred elsewhere; Dallas cleared an encampment of up to 200 tents near city hall, while Seattle’s goal of building 500 new homes to address homelessness before the tournament resulted in 50 units being completed.
Impact on the unhoused community
Homeless individuals report being relocated to facilities on the outskirts of cities, with some describing the experience as traumatic and lacking in transparency. In Atlanta, one man reported being taken to a center he described as a 'warehouse of cops' before returning to the city on foot. These clearances follow a history of similar actions during major sporting events, including the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Guardian Football.
