DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Viral video of huge homeless encampment near UC Berkeley prompts alarm.

A viral video taken by a parent recently dropping her son off at UC Berkeley prompted alarm by revealing large camping tents, trash, sleeping bags, garbage, tarps, dirty mattresses, bikes and other debris piled up in heaps and spilling out into the street for several blocks.

“I just dropped my son off at @UCBerkeley housing and as we were approaching we saw this behind his apartments,” parent Lyanne Melendez posted on social media Aug. 19.

The video, which has racked up more than 3.5 million views, depicts a long-standing homeless encampment at Eighth and Harrison streets in the city of Berkeley. While city officials and residents have battled for years to clean it up, the video prompted a new wave of headlines.

It sits directly outside of the UC Berkeley University Village, which houses roughly 3,500 residents, including more than 700 residents under the age of 18, according to a UC Berkeley housing website.

Berkeley city officials have tried to shut down the encampment but have been blocked by homeless rights advocates in court.

Sure, Berkeley was crazy when I lived in the Bay Area — but it was at least clean.

That was three decades ago, however, and even then the decline felt baked-in.