The Jungle isn't far from the headquarters of tech giants like Apple, Adobe, and Google, and wealthy executives own mansions nearby. Some locals call the gap between the tech industry and the homeless population the "Great Divide."
The city warned residents that they would be evicted just three days before it happened. "It was a change in approach," Ray Bramson, San Jose's homelessness response manager, said to Reuters. "Historically we'd come in and clean the site and people would come back and repopulate it. We realized that we needed to deal with the underlying issue creating the encampment, which is homelessness."
Dismantling the camp was the second part of a $4 million project by the city, who had spent the last 18 months finding shelters where the homeless could be placed.
Though many Jungle residents slept in tents or bunkers, others had built more complicated structures that needed to be taken down.
Officers are seen clearing the area.
Mud left by a recent rainstorm made the task especially complicated.
Anna Haynes splashes herself with water before leaving the area.
As she leaves her spot, you can see that there's debris everywhere.
The sheer amount of muddy belongings and trash made cleaning up seem like a daunting task.
Others are seen crossing the severely polluted Coyote Creek.
Resident Tracy Sanchez stands behind barricades that had been put up around the area and pleads to be let down to get her belongings.
Collecting and transporting her things proved to be difficult, as Sanchez had no proper storage containers and opted for a plastic bag instead.
City workers help Bobby Labow bring his things up to the main street.
Labow embraces his cat, Beverly.
According to Reuters, the city plans to patrol the area regularly to ensure it doesn't become populated again.
Now see what the Jungle used to look like.
