A Right to Housing: Foundation for a New Social Agenda

by Rachel Bratt (Editor), Michael Stone (Editor), Chester Hartman (Editor)

Overview

In the 1949 Housing Act, Congress declared "a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family" our national housing goal. Today, little more than half a century later, upwards of 100 million people in the United States live in housing that is physically inadequate, unsafe, overcrowded, or unaffordable.

The contributors to A Right to Housing consider the key issues related to America's housing crisis, including income inequality and insecurity, segregation and discrimination, the rights of the elderly, as well as legislative and judicial responses to homelessness. The book offers a detailed examination of how access to adequate housing is directly related to economic security.

With essays by leading activists and scholars, this book presents a powerful and compelling analysis of the persistent inability of the U.S. to meet many of its citizens' housing needs, and a comprehensive proposal for progressive change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592134335
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	02/28/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	448
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Rachel G. Bratt is Professor and Chair of the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. She is the author of Rebuilding a Low-Income Housing Policy and a co-editor of Critical Perspectives on Housing , both published by Temple.Michael E. Stone is Professor of Community Planning and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His publications include Shelter Poverty: New Ideas on Housing Affordability (Temple).Chester Hartman is Director of Research at the Poverty & Race Research Action Council in Washington, DC and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at George Washington University. His most recent books are City for Sale: The Transformation of San Francisco and Between Eminence & Notoriety: Four Decades of Radical Urban Planning.Contributors: Emily Paradise Achtenberg, Boston, Consultant; David B. Bryson, National Housing Law Project; John Emmeus Davis, Burlington, Vermont, Consultant; Nancy A. Denton, SUNY Albany; Peter Dreier, Occidental College; Maria Foscarinis, National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty; Dennis Keating, Cleveland State University; Peter Marcuse, Columbia University; Jon Pynoos and Christy M. Nishita, University of Southern California; Rob Rosenthal, Wesleyan University; Susan Saegert and Helene Clark, City University of New York; Michael Swack, Southern New Hampshire University; Chris Tilly, University of Massachusetts, Lowell; Robert Wiener, California Coalition for Rural Housing Project; Larry Lamar Yates, Social Justice Connections; and the editors.

Table of Contents

Why a Right to Housing is Needed and Makes Sense: Editors' Introduction

I.    HOUSING PROBLEMS: CONTEXT AND CHALLENGES

1.    The Economic Environment of Housing: Income Inequality and Insecurity
    Chris Tilly, U. Mass. Lowell

2.    Housing Affordability: One-Third of a Nation Shelter-Poor
    Michael E. Stone, U. Mass. Boston

3.    Segregation and Discrimination in Housing
    Nancy A. Denton, SUNY Albany

4.    Pernicious Problems of Housing Finance
    Michael E. Stone

5.    Federal Housing Subsidies: Who Benefits and Why?
    Peter Dreier, Occidental College

6.    The Permanent Housing Crisis: The Failures of Conservativism and the Limitations of Liberalism
    Peter Marcuse, Columbia University; Dennis Keating, Cleveland State University

7.    Federally-Assisted Housing in Conflict: Privatization or Preservation?
    Emily Paradise Achtenberg, Boston, Consultant

BOX-- Privatizing Rural Rental Housing
Robert Wiener, California Coalition for Rural Housing Project

II.    A RIGHT TO HOUSING: CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES

8.    The Case for a Right to Housing
    Chester Hartman, Poverty & Race Research Action Council

9.    The Role of the Courts and a Right to Housing
    David B. Bryson, National Housing Law Project

10.    Housing Organizing for the Long Haul: Building on Experience
    Larry Lamar Yates, Social Justice Connections

11.    Social Ownership
    Michael E. Stone
   
12.    Social Financing
    Michael Swack, Southern New Hampshire University

13.    Elderly and a Right to Housing
    Jon Pynoos and Christy M. Nishita, University of Southern California

14.    Opening Doors: What a Right to Housing Means for Women
    Susan Saegert and Helene Clark, City University of New York

15.    Responses to Homelessness: Past Policies and Future Directions
Rob Rosenthal, Wesleyan University; Maria Foscarinis, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty

16.    Community Development Corporations: Challenges in Supporting a Right to Housing
    Rachel G. Bratt, Tufts University
   
BOX-- Old and New Challenges Facing Rural Housing Nonprofits
    Robert Wiener

17.    Between Devolution and the Deep Blue Sea: What's a City or State To Do?
    John Emmeus Davis, Burlington, Vermont, Consultant

18.    Housing and Economic Security
    Rachel G. Bratt

Editorial Reviews

"A well-written hard-nosed analysis of a range of dimensions of housing in the U.S. Particularly if you have never delved into the housing field before...this book is where you should begin."
—Contemporary Sociology

"This book does an excellent job of taking into account this broader notion of housing, while remaining focused on those in poverty or with disabilities who are in dire need of affordable, safe housing. Particularly commendable is the overview of the various functions of housing....[T]he volume is ideal reading for any advocate, researcher, or student interested in the notion of a right to housing, safe housing, or affordable housing. It is a treasure trove of statistics, policy history, and policy proposals for a more progressive housing model in America. This book is highly recommended!"
—Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

From the Publisher