The Jungle, Tent city near Story Road, San Jose, US
The Jungle was a tent city located beneath an overpass along a creek in San Jose, California, made up of makeshift shelters built from tarps, wood, and salvaged materials. The site covered a large area of low-lying ground and was home to several hundred people at its peak.
The camp began growing around 2012 as rising housing costs in the Silicon Valley area pushed more people out of stable homes. In late 2014, the city of San Jose cleared the site and relocated its residents.
The people living there came from many different backgrounds and formed a community with its own social norms and informal rules. Walking through the site, visitors could observe how daily life organized itself around shared spaces and small acts of mutual support.
The site no longer exists in its original form following the 2014 clearance, and the area has since changed. Anyone visiting the location today should check in advance what remains at the site before making the trip.
Some parts of the camp had improvised water systems and basic electrical connections that residents built themselves without outside help. This level of self-organization went well beyond what most people would expect from a temporary settlement.
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