Unauthorized DIY tiny homes spring up in crime and vagrant-riddled Portland – one ‘owner’ even installing a basketball hoop
- Portland has an estimated 6,297 homeless people, of whom 5,398 are unsheltered
- Tent cities full of disease and crime emerged as the problem rose from 1,887
- City built villages with small houses, but some people build their own villages
Homeless people are building their own small homes in Portland neighborhoods overrun with vagrants as the crisis deepens.
The one-room cabins are nailed together using scraped wood from pallets and abandoned trash, complete with windows and doors.
An ingenious architect even added a basketball hoop to the side of a wall, made of wood and some sort of recycled material bent into a hoop.
But the creative, albeit illicit, solution to stay out of the elements had a dark side: a local resident claimed a small house was being used by criminals.
The one-room cabins are nailed together using scraped wood from pallets and abandoned rubbish, complete with windows and doors
Another was still under construction, demonstrating the haphazard nature of the DIY construction using disparate pieces of wood
Portland’s homeless population increased 65 percent from 1,887 to 6,297 between 2015 and 2023, with approximately 5,398 unsheltered
“I see small houses built by homeless people popping up on almost every block in some neighborhoods,” social worker Kevin Dahlgren wrote.
‘This one is very nice and even has a basketball hoop. I saw another one today, but it was used for prostitution and another for drugs.’
The house with the hoop was surrounded by extra wood, two shopping carts, and random trash.
Another was still under construction, demonstrating the haphazard nature of the DIY construction using disparate pieces of wood.
Portland has built official small-house villages to get homeless people off the streets, and plans to add another 100 in the coming months.
The shelters cost about $16,000 each and are about 8 feet long on each side – enough room for a single bed and some drawers.
Portland has built official tiny house villages to get the homeless off the streets, and plans to add another 100 in the coming months
A person lies on the street in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood of downtown Portland
Tents line the sidewalk of SW Clay Street in Portland as 5,398 people sleep in the city
Each of the Safe Rest Villages across the city costs $15 million to $3 million a year to operate, including staffing, maintenance, mental health care and food. Utilities are extra and vary by location.
Last August there were 400 houses spread across seven villages, and the city has since built more. Each village has bathrooms, a laundry room, a kitchen and a garden.
However, opponents argue that villages with small houses waste money that could be better spent building affordable housing.
Portland’s homeless population increased 65 percent from 1,887 to 6,297 between 2015 and 2023, with about 5,398 of them unsheltered.
Multnomah County plans to create enough shelters for about 2,700 people by the end of next year.