Shocking footage has emerged revealing a gigantic ‘shantytown’ that has sprung up in Oakland, as the California city continues to slide into crime-ravaged squalor. Michael Oxford, host of CaliBased, posted a video on May 31 showing massive temporary houses built along service roads that open up into main roads in Hooverville, Oakland.
The footage displays trash strewn around numerous makeshift houses constructed from wood, tarps, and other discarded materials. The size of the ‘shantytown’ is particularly shocking, with a lengthy stretch of road in the Bay Area city covered with these dwellings. Oxford can be heard in the video calling the area a ‘shantytown’ that is ‘absolutely mindboggling,’ criticizing city officials for allowing such conditions.
He captioned the video, “Parts of Oakland are worse than a third-world country. They just allow people to live in absolute squalor, wherever they choose. This looks like Hooverville during the Great Depression. Welcome to Oakland’s very own Gavinville.”
Tom Wolf, a former homeless man and recovering heroin and fentanyl addict from San Francisco, shared the video and commented, “Worse than any shanty in the third world. You know how we got here? Drugs.”
Parts of Oakland are worse than a third world country.
They just allow people to live in absolute squalor, wherever they choose.
This looks like Hooverville during the great depression.
Welcome to Oakland’s very own Gavinville. pic.twitter.com/L58uK2E6Sh
— Michael Oxford – AKA The Santa Cruz Mountain Goat (@SCMountainGoat) June 1, 2024
Oakland’s descent into such dire conditions is particularly troubling given its enviable location in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the most naturally beautiful regions in the United States. Despite being home to many wealthy individuals due to the tech boom of nearby Silicon Valley, both Oakland and neighboring San Francisco have become synonymous with filth and crime, increasingly blamed on progressive policies.
Earlier this month, city administrators had to remove traffic lights from a busy Oakland intersection and replace them with stop signs after the electrical boxes controlling the lights were repeatedly tampered with and the copper wiring was stolen. Local residents and business owners attribute this issue to a nearby homeless encampment that has grown over the years.
Tam Le, the owner of a vehicle repair shop at the intersection, expressed frustration, stating that the city’s decision to install stop signs signals that it is “giving up on us.” The malfunctioning traffic lights, which either blinked red or went out completely, created hazardous driving conditions. Le claims that homeless individuals steal power from the city’s electrical boxes and copper from the traffic lights themselves, leading to repeated malfunctions despite the city’s repair efforts.
In another disturbing development, groups of homeless people were found living inside furnished caves dug into the banks of a river 20 feet below street level in Modesto. These makeshift homes, decorated with murals and makeshift fireplaces, were cleared out by authorities, who removed belongings, furniture, and 7,600 lbs of rubbish.
Oakland’s two most visible lawmakers, progressive Mayor Sheng Thao and District Attorney Pamela Price, are both facing recalls over their soft-on-crime policies. One in thirty Oakland residents had their car stolen in 2023, with violent crime also soaring. Thao previously supported defunding the police, while Price has been criticized for prioritizing equity over prosecuting crimes effectively, leading to accusations that she has put the needs of criminals over those of victims.
In a significant embarrassment for Oakland, In-N-Out Burger closed a store for the first time in the company’s history earlier this year. The restaurant, located near the city’s airport, had become a notorious target for burglaries, posing constant threats of violent crime to customers and staff.
As Oakland grapples with these escalating issues, the emergence of massive shantytowns highlights the urgent need for effective solutions to address the city’s growing homelessness and crime problems.
