As U.S. cities struggle to address rising homelessness, they increasingly​​ are turning to policies pushed by commercial-property owners that ban people from sitting or sleeping on sidewalks and begging for money. Business improvement districts—groups of commercial property owners who pool their resources to revitalize their neighborhoods—have worked with some city councils to create and help enforce new laws targeting public conduct in busy commercial districts. In Denver, Berkeley, Calif., and Portland, Ore., for...

Source: Wall Street Journal October 15, 2016 15:00 UTC