I can't think of a worse idea: nonprofit suggests building homeless shelter in San Diego's Balboa Park

Art map.

San Diego's Balboa Park is a 1200 acre culture and parks complex, including 17 museums, the San Diego Zoo, and a variety of public gardens.  Built to host the 1915–16 Panama–California Exposition, later it hosted the 1935–36 California Pacific International Exposition.

With the rise in homelessness, spurred both by a rise in the cost of housing and the pandemic, public camping has increased significantly, and public parks and trails are often used as encampment sites, creating significant problems for many communities, which lack the financial and other resources to build the amount of housing and programs required to fully address the problem.

Posting on the Nextdoor community information system.

Here in Salt Lake City homeless camping in public parks has been a huge problem--at Liberty Park, a bit lesser problem at Fairmont Park. And is a problem at other city parks as well.

I was surprised to see that the Lucky Duck Foundation and separately a City Council member have suggested building tent shelters at Balboa Park, each capable of housing 500 people ("Balboa Park groups oppose proposed homeless shelter, saying it would be a violation of city, state rules," San Diego Union Tribune).

San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn has suggested the Inspiration Point parking lot in Balboa Park could serve as a possible site for a large, safe campground or other homeless services. His proposal has the support of Mayor Todd Gloria, but has not yet had a hearing before the full council.

The philanthropic Lucky Duck Foundation also has suggested the eight-acre lot at Interstate 5 and Park Boulevard as a site for large tented shelters that could accommodate about 500 people.

In planning I talk about its purpose being "designing conflict out" instead of designing a program that from the outset creates ongoing conflict.  

While I know that dealing with homelessness and shelters is more a management and program issue ("Creating 'community safety partnership neighborhood management programs as a management and mitigation strategy for public nuisances"), I can't think of something worse than putting a homeless shelter in a major park.  Unless there is a major set of programs and services for the patrons, which would limit their hanging out in the park.