Peter Dreier

Scapegoating Rent Control: Masking the Causes of Homelessness

Abstract While many analysts contend that a shortage of affordable housing is a principal cause of homelessness, one recent well-publicized study argues that housing shortages themselves—and hence homelessness—are ultimately the result of ill-conceived local rent controls. This study, conducted by William Tucker, has been widely cited by opponents of rent control as a justification for limiting the ability of localities to regulate rents. The research presented in this article is a re-analysis of Tuckers data that corrects for methodological shortcomings in the original analysis. The research shows that there is no evidence to support Tuckers conclusion that rent control causes homelessness.

The role of nonprofit housing in Canada and the United States: Some comparisons

Abstract When the development of large‐scale public housing projects was discontinued in the 1970s in both Canada and the United States, the policy response was very different. This article reviews the nature of the dissimilar low‐income housing policy paths, documenting the role of federal housing policy in the evolution of a significant nonprofit “third sector” in Canadas housing system; the decision of the U.S. federal government to rely on the private sector for subsidized rental supply; and, with very little help from the federal government, the ‘bottom‐up” attempt to develop a nonprofit housing sector in communities throughout the United States. In Canada, a permanent stock of good‐quality, nonprofit social housing was created along with a growing and increasingly competent community‐based housing development sector. The Canadian experience demonstrates that it takes time to build the capacity of the nonprofit sector. The U.S. experience demonstrates that there is a great deal of community‐based ta...

Katrina and Power in America

The Katrina disaster exposed the major fault lines of American society and politics: class and race. It offers lessons for urban scholars and practitioners. Katrina was a human-made disaster more than a natural disaster. The conditions that led to the disaster, and the response by government officials, were the result of policy choices. Government incompetence was an outgrowth of a more serious indifference to the plight of cities and the poor. As a result, the opportunity to reconstruct New Orleans as part of a bold regional renewal plan was lost. Whatever positive things happen in Katrina’s aftermath will be due, in large measure, to the long-term work of grassroots community and union-organizing groups who mobilized quickly to provide a voice for the have-nots and who found allies among professionals to help formulate alternative plans to those developed by business and political elites.

Economic Inequality and Public Policy: The Power of Place

In recent decades two broad trends in American society have been well–documented: rising income inequality and rising segregation of economic classes across space in metropolitan areas. The thesis of this article is that rising economic segregation is both a cause of rising economic inequality and amplifies its effects in ways that do not showup in the income statistics. The article synthesizes the evidence on the contextual effects of economic segregation in three areas: 1) jobs and income; 2) public services; and 3) retail services. Economic segregation does not only undermine equal opportunity, it also damages American democracy. Although more research is needed on the effects of economic segregation, the evidence is more than sufficient to call for public action.

How the Media Compound Urban Problems

ABSTRACT: Major news media coverage of cities reinforces an overwhelmingly negative and misleading view of urban America. The images from the nightly news, newsweeklies, and on the pages of our daily newspapers are an unrelenting story of social pathology—mounting crime, gangs, drug wars, racial tension, homelessness, teenage pregnancy, AIDS, inadequate schools, and slum housing. Moreover, this perspective on our cities is compounded by misleading news coverage of government efforts to address these problems. Government programs are typically covered as well-intentioned but misguided, plagued by mismanagement, inefficiency, and, in some cases, corruption. There is very little news coverage of collective efforts by unions, community organizations, and other grassroots groups to address problems. Only when such efforts include drama, conflict, and/or violence do the major media typically pay attention.

How ACORN Was Framed: Political Controversy and Media Agenda Setting

Using the news controversy over the community group ACORN, we illustrate the way that the media help set the agenda for public debate and frame the way that debate is shaped. Opinion entrepreneurs (primarily business and conservative groups and individuals, often working through web sites) set the story in motion as early as 2006, the conservative echo chamber orchestrated an anti-ACORN campaign in 2008, the Republican presidential campaign repeated the allegations with a more prominent platform, and the mainstream media reported the allegations without investigating their veracity. As a result, the little-known community organization became the subject of great controversy in the 2008 US presidential campaign, and was recognizable by 82 percent of respondents in a national survey. We analyze 2007–2008 coverage of ACORN by 15 major news media organizations and the narrative frames of their 647 stories during that period. Voter fraud was the dominant story frame, with 55 percent of the stories analyzed using it. We demonstrate that the national news media agenda is easily permeated by a persistent media campaign by opinion entrepreneurs alleging controversy, even when there is little or no truth to the story. Conversely, local news media, working outside of elite national news media sources to verify the most essential facts of the story, were the least likely to latch onto the “voter fraud” bandwagon.

The Status of Tenants in the United States

Sociologists have done little research on the status of tenants in the United States. This paper examines the social, political and economic status of tenants and the conditions which have given rise to tenant mobilization. It focuses on property ownership and property relations as a neglected but persistent aspect of stratification in U.S. society.

The Limits of Localism: Progressive Housing Policies in Boston (1984-1989)

The progressive housing policies of populist Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn are described and analyzed in this article. Flynns progressive housing policies are contrasted with those of his liberal predecessor, Kevin White. Bostons housing crisis and politics are described. The authors argue that Flynns progressive housing policies have resulted in better housing conditions for Bostons poor and working-class citizenry, advocacy of progressive housing policies, empowerment of tenant and neighborhood organizations, and development of a nationally recognized model of nonprofit housing. Nevertheless, the authors argue that no city government by itself can solve a citys housing problems equitably without much greater federal assistance than is provided currently.

Labor's Love Lost? Rebuilding Unions’ Involvement in Federal Housing Policy

Abstract Housing was a major issue in the 1948 elections, and the landmark Housing Act of 1949 ensued. Today, housing is barely on the political radar screen, despite the fact that the nation has serious housing problems. This article reviews the political coalition and strategy that led to the Housing Act of 1949 and compares them with the political coalition and potential for housing today. Three key factors explain the effectiveness of the 1949 campaign: Progressive housing advocates in the 1930s and 1940s (1) had a radical vision of federal housing policy, (2) were part of a broader movement for social reform that linked housing to other issues and built alliances with organized labor, and (3) worked with this broad coalition to mobilize the urban and labor vote, activating a constituency for housing reform. Rebuilding this constituency requires learning lessons from this successful effort and adapting them to contemporary political and economic circumstances.

US housing problems, politics and policies in the 1990s

Abstract Housing policy in the US reflects its general approach to economic and social problems. Among all western democracies, the US relies most on private market forces to provide housing for its population. American housing policy emphasises bolstering market forces and minimising assistance for the poor. Despite its significant achievements (for example, two out of every three American households now owns its dwelling), the US is now facing a severe housing crisis, not only for the poor, but for a sizeable portion of the troubled middle class. To guarantee every American an opportunity to live in decent, safe and affordable housing, the US has to change national priorities and spend more on housing. But it also must spend better: reduce development costs, eliminate bureaucratic waste, and target assistance more efficiently. Following a review of past and current housing programmes, we outline a progressive housing policy agenda and then discuss the political obstacles and opportunities that confront ...