Robert E. Lang

Security versus Status? A First Look at the Census’s Gated Community Data

For most people, the term gated communities conjures up images of exclusive developments with fancy homes and equally fancy lifestyles. Much of the popular and academic literature on gated communities promotes this view. Yet the common perception of gated communities as privileged enclaves turns out to be only partly correct based on our analysis of the first ever census survey of these places. There are gated communities composed of mostly White homeowners with high incomes that have a secure main entry—the kind of classic gated community in the public mind. But there are also gated communities that are inhabited by minority renters with moderate incomes. We expected that this dichotomy reflects a divide between gated communities, one based on status versus one motivated by concern for security. Using the 2001 American Housing Survey (AHS), we attempted to explain the differences between gated homeowners, nongated homeowners, gated renters, and nongated renter households.

Live work play: New perspectives on the downtown rebound

Abstract Downtowns in the US have not traditionally been considered the appropriate place for residential use. This paper begins by highlighting previous rounds of downtown revitalization paid little attention to residential activity. The paper then discusses the reasons why this most recent round of downtown housing activity and policy that differ from previous attempts at encouraging downtown housing; success was partly due to historic preservation and a new appreciation for downtown living. The second section of the paper details some actual downtown housing building trends based on a survey of 20 selected US cities. The paper concludes with stressing the significance of including downtown housing policy as part of a larger economic development plan for older downtowns.

Confronting Urban Crisis and Opportunity in the 1990s: An Insiders’ View on How Fannie Mae’s Housing Research Helped Reset Policy and Remade Cities

Abstract In response to the urban crisis of the early 1990s, the government-sponsored enterprise known as Fannie Mae used what would become the Annual Housing Conference (AHC) to influence urban and housing policy. This article traces the history of the AHC in relation to Housing Policy Debate as part of a concerted effort of Fannie Mae to invest in and upgrade the quality of urban and housing policy research during the 1990s. The impact of these conferences on the policy community in universities, Washington DC, the states, and indeed the world is analyzed by highlighting some of work that came out of the more influential conferences including the 1991 Homeless Conference, the 1994 Access to Opportunity Conference, and the 1997 Social Capital Conference. The article is concluded with an appraisal of the AHC’s legacy.