The Supreme Court's City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024) ruling allowed state and local governments to cite or arrest unhoused people for living in public without first offering them shelter. After the ruling was announced, Governor Gavin Newsom urged California officials to push forward with encampment closures, ushering in a wave of new anti-camping policies across the state.

Oakland's Encampment Abatement Policy divides the city into high-sensitivity and low-sensitivity zones. In high-sensitivity zones — locations near critical infrastructure such as traffic lanes and schools — encampments are prioritized for closure. Encampments are not prioritized for closure in low-sensitivity zones as long as they adhere to a set of strict requirements.

There are five types of encampment interventions captured in this dataset: Full Closures, Health & Hygiene interventions, Deep Cleanings, Partial Closures, and Emergency Closures. Since 2024, the City of Oakland has focused almost entirely on full closures.