How to be a Good Neighbor (and Stay Alive) while Camping in the Urban-Wild Interface:

How to be a Good Neighbor (and Stay Alive) while Camping in the Urban-Wild Interface:

Author: Anna M. Rodriguez 

December 10th, 2025

       The unfortunate truth is that people lose access to housing every day. Here in the United States, “more than half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and one crisis away from homelessness,” according to this report by United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. With the many factors that contribute to the [lack of] housing crisis, long-term systemic changes to the housing industry must occur. However, for the 771,480 people who experienced houselessness in the United States on a given night in 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, long-term solutions do not help them to cope with their immediate situation.

      It is estimated by the Homeless Mortality Data Workgroup that up to 46,000 houseless people die in the United States every year. The conditions of living outside can be dangerous, and are becoming increasingly more so because of the impacts of global climate change. This estimate of Deaths that are connected to a lack of housing can be significantly decreased by providing free education in outdoor survival; addressing the immediate challenges associated with loss of housing by more effectively preparing those who have recently become houseless and those who are just one crisis away from becoming so. After reading this article, you will find that you are more prepared to face the conditions of life in the urban-wild interface and that your capacity to educate others has also increased.

       You may be surprised to find out that if you spent time in a scouting club as an adolescent, than you are more prepared than you realize! If you did not have the privilege of participating in one of the programs provided by Scouting America or if the passage of time has effected your recollection of the knowledge provided in Scouting guidebooks, do not worry! I will now provide a brief overview of the Scouting codes that are essential to camping. If you desire a deeper review of Scouting Code, you can access an online version of the Scoutbook HERE. Now, let us look at the essential scout codes that can be guiding principles for Urban camping:

The Outdoor Code:

As an American, I will do my best to

• Be clean in my outdoor manners
• Be careful with fire
• Be considerate in the outdoors
• Be conservation-minded

 #1. Be Clean in your Outdoor Manners:

     By applying this first code you will ensure that your impact is not detrimental to the landscape, which is already fragile given it’s proximity to urbanization and you will increase the receptiveness of neighbors to your presence, negating potential conflicts. For more specific guidelines on how to be clean in the outdoors, read and memorize the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace. 

#2. Be Careful with Fire:

     The importance of the second principle must be emphasized. Nothing causes more disdain from residential neighbors and validation of anti-camping ordinances than irresponsible fire tending. Not to mention the potential harm, destruction, and death that can be caused by an out of control fire in an Urban Setting, given the prevalence of underground gas piping, risk of channeling through forgotten infrastructural tunnels, and the close conductive distance of buildings.

        In order to be careful with fire, you must first check if there are Fire Bans in effect in your local area. If there are no fire bans, then you can carefully tend a fire for cooking and warmth. However, please consider alternatives that pose less risk in an urban-wild setting. It is easy to find old camping stoves at thrift stores and often just need to be disassembled, deeply cleaned, and reassembled to get back to good operation. For a lightweight option, you can get a pocket stove! Just remember that these options are still fires that need to be properly prepared for and tended. Ensure that the surface you set it on is flat and free of ignitable fuels such as leaves, bark chips, or trash. 

       During the winter months, in colder climates it may become necessary to utilize a fire to avoid hypothermia and other dangerous temperature related ailments; remember that even though it is cold or there may be snow, fire can still travel very fast. To carefully have a fire to stay warm, find something that will elevate the fire off the ground and contain it in metal. You can also often find community tended fires provided by other houseless folks, which are also great gathering places to ask questions or seek advice from more experienced campers. 

#3. Be Considerate in the Outdoors:

     Also the seventh principle of Leave No Trace, or Land Ethics; to be considerate in the outdoors you must remember that public natural spaces are shared spaces. Nobody is entitled to exclusive use of any portion of the public urban-wild interface. This statement can be used for your protection against legal persecution but you must also abide by it and inclusively share the space with everyone. It is a good idea to camp away from main trails, obscured from sight to lessen the visual impacts and crowded feelings for other users of nature. “Commit to working toward a world where diversity is welcome and everyone feels safe outdoors.” (https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/be-considerate-of-other-visitors/) 

#4. Be Conservation Minded:

      This principle includes learning how to practice good conservation of soil, water, forests, minerals, wildlife, grasslands, and energy. Not only will this practice sustainably help to conserve Earth’s resources, but it will enable you to survive houselessness efficiently. To collect water for washing, opt for alternatives to using rivers, creeks, and streams. Some water collection strategies include building a rain harvesting system with a tarp or, with permission of the property owner, using a Water Key to tap into the city water piping through spouts that can be found on the sides of buildings!

     This completes our review of The Outdoor Code. You will be surprised how beneficial the application of the principles, to your behavior while camping in the urban-Wild interface, can be! 

     Even if you are a reader who is not living with an imminent risk of housing loss, you can still practice this code while recreating in order to be a good visitor to our wild neighbors! You can also share this code with people who may be new to the conditions of outdoor living, as it very well may save their life! 

     If you are in the unfortunate situation of having recently lost your stable place of living and have had to resort to outdoor living for the first time in your life, Please practice The Outdoor Code, as well as the Principles of Leave No Trace, which together form what is known as Land Use Ethics. Abiding by these codes will increase the quality of experience for everyone who has to live in the shared outdoors and will increase acceptance of our presence by our residential neighbors! I hope you find life outdoors to be as peaceful as I do and that, through this experience, you are able to reconnect with the environment! Welcome home!