Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says the city has no plans to remove a tent village erected by protesters in the Downtown Eastside.

The makeshift village was set up Monday by a group trying to draw attention to Vancouver's homelessness problem.

At a press conference Tuesday morning, Robertson said the demonstration is on privately-owned land and as long as it stays safe – he says it stays up.

"It's totally understandable that the community is voicing its concerns," he told reporters.

"As long as we can keep this protest safe for all involved, it's important these voices are being heard."

A longtime advocate for the homeless, Robertson says it is his goal to end homelessness in Vancouver by 2015.

It is expected that around 20 people will live in the Olympic tent village around the clock. Food for the group will be prepared off site.

Yesterday's demonstration began as a rally in Pigeon Park at noon. From there, throngs of international news media followed participants as they set up tents in a vacant lot at 58 Hastings Street near Main Street to serve both as a statement and also as a temporary solution to housing in Canada's poorest postal code.

The tent village is part of the Red Tent campaign, a national movement urging the Conservative government to enact a federal housing strategy.

Local activists are calling for an end to high-end condo developments in the neighbourhood and the "gentrification" of the Downtown Eastside. They have also asked the owners of the vacant lot, condo developer Concord Pacific, to build low-cost housing on the property.

Concord Pacific has yet to ask the protesters to leave.

"The land is currently leased and under Vanoc's control for the Games. The land is slated for housing," a Concord Pacific spokesperson said in a written statement.

Protesters are also criticizing the city's decision to host the Olympics, saying homelessness has tripled in the region since Vancouver won its Games bid in 2003.

More protests

Another Red Tent protest, sanctioned by police, was also peacefully executed early Monday morning.

With the permission of the Vancouver Police and the 2010 Integrated Security Unit, members of the Red Tent campaign unfurled a 14-metre banner off the Cambie Street Bridge that read "Homes for All."

The banner was facing east towards the athletes village and was removed about 45 minutes later without incident.