St. Louis Released Encampment Assessment Guidelines

Mayor Cara Spencer introduced a new scoring system to manage homeless encampment disbandments across St. Louis.

Updated on Oct. 10, 2026 in Home Organization

Isometric editorial illustration showing a series of geometric stone plinths arranged on a brick ledge, representing a city assessment and scoring framework. — St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer has introduced a new scoring system for city officials to evaluate and manage homeless encampments based on safety hazards. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should your city use standardized guidelines to determine when to disband homeless encampments?

St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer has released a 17-page draft of new guidelines designed to standardize the assessment and potential clearing of local homeless encampments. The city operations team will now assign scores from 0 to 100 to sites based on hazards like fire, drugs, and weapons.

Why it matters

The guidelines were created to protect the safety of both local residents living near these areas and the individuals residing within them. The city aims to provide a more consistent framework for addressing encampments while working toward a larger plan for increasing shelter availability.

Encampments scoring 60 or higher qualify for potential disbandment under the new criteria. Disbandment processes now include three weeks of outreach and case management followed by a mandatory seven-day notice period for residents to vacate.

The players

Cara Spencer

Cara Spencer is the Mayor of St. Louis who introduced the new draft guidelines for managing homeless encampments.

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is the current Vice President of the United States who visited a St. Louis encampment in October 2023.

The details

City officials utilize the assessment tool to prioritize sites that pose immediate threats to health and safety, such as those with confirmed fire risks or weapons. Currently, the encampment at 10th and Cass carries the highest score within the city's new assessment framework, though the city acknowledged that a shortage of shelter beds limits relocation capacity.

October 6-7, 2026: City personnel disbanded an encampment on Garfield Avenue.
October 8, 2026: Mayor Cara Spencer met with reporters to discuss the new draft guidelines.

Culture Shift

These guidelines reflect a broader shift toward standardized municipal crisis management that balances public safety concerns with the logistical reality of shelter shortages. By quantifying the risks associated with encampments, the city is moving away from ad-hoc responses toward a structured, policy-driven approach to urban homelessness.

Residents living near identified encampment sites may see increased outreach presence and eventual site clearing activities. The process mandates a 28-day window from initial notification to forced relocation, which may affect local pedestrian traffic and area accessibility near reported sites.

The takeaway

The city's new scoring system represents an attempt to add transparency to a complex and highly visible urban challenge. Residents should monitor official city communications to stay informed about how these protocols may impact their specific neighborhoods in the coming months.