WPES: John Robinson, Sociology

Discussant: Sam Shearer

Abstract: More than fifty years after Congress enacted the Fair Housing Act of 1968, neighborhood inequalities of race and class continue to define life for many residents of American cities and surrounding areas. Historically, the provision of housing to low-income families has proved a powerful force in shaping these patterns. Drawing on a book manuscript-in-progress, entitled Liquid City: Affordable Housing and the Color of Transformation, this talk considers the new world of low-income housing policy as the production of new units has become increasingly market- and finance-driven and government administration fades seemingly into the background. Through a case study of the Chicago metropolitan area, it explores how these shifts are reshaping political contestation around the racial boundaries that demarcate urban and suburban space in unintended and important ways.