I am just marking a private student's writing where he says

Reports of nightly anti-social behaviour, vandalism, and unregulated bivouacs under the porticoes create a hostile environment.

I had to look it up. This is my first time meeting bivouac. Cambridge Dictionary tells me

a temporary shelter or camp for sleeping in outside, that is not a tent:

Knowing the area he's referring to, he's talking about the makeshift sleeping spaces that the homeless set up for the night. They don't sleep in tents but have blankets, sleeping bags, coats, and cardboard boxes to keep themselves warm for the night.

Is there a word or a commonly used expression that describes the sleeping area that the homeless set up for the night? Would “set up camp for the night” be more natural-sounding? Or is bivouac a commonly-known expression that is appropriate in this situation?