Encampments of Unhoused Individuals in Transportation Rights-of-Way: Laws and State DOT Practices

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.