Disband homeless camps? Some cities rethink them instead.

Many cities are conducting sweeps of homeless encampments. But a new line of thinking suggests a different solution that maintains the dignity of those without homes and doesn't simply move the problem out of sight.

When Salt Lake City began enforcing an urban camping ban several years ago, hundreds of Utahns picked up their belongings and headed toward the Jordan River.

For centuries, the river has been a trading post, a border, and a nexus of nomadic activity. But most of all, it has been “a place of refuge,” says...