This archive report was first published on 16 May 2020.
On May 15, 2020, a federal judge in Los Angeles issued a landmark ruling, ordering the city and county authorities to relocate thousands of homeless individuals living under freeways and on exit and entrance ramps.
The judge, David O. Carter, cited the particularly deadly hazards in these areas, including pollutants, passing cars, and potential earthquakes, which could shorten the lives of people living near freeways by decades.
According to the ruling, the authorities must provide alternative shelter to the 6,000 to 7,000 people who live in these areas, ensuring that the new shelters allow for social distancing, adequate showers and sinks, and nurses who can test for communicable diseases such as Covid-19.
The judge also ordered the authorities not to take away people's belongings while moving them and to give them advance notice of the move.
After the relocation, the authorities will be allowed to order people who return to leave and may enforce 'anti-camping' laws, the judge said.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit from the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which argued that the authorities were illegally mistreating the roughly 60,000 homeless people living in the region.
