City contractors on Tuesday removed the final remnants of a sprawling encampment along the outskirts of Laurelhurst Park, where about 100 people lived for months among a cluster of tents and other makeshift dwellings that had incensed some nearby residents.

Mayor Ted Wheeler touted the sweep through the wealthy Southeast Portland neighborhood as a model he aims to replicate across the city, despite Oregon’s current record-breaking coronavirus surge and large protests organized against the practice.

“Right now, we have to address the reality that we have hundreds, if not thousands, of tents choking virtually every public space in this city and that does not comport with the public’s expectations of what a humane response should be,” Wheeler said in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

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