The Sociology Of Housing

A landmark volume about the importance of housing in social life. In 1947, the president of the American Sociological Association, Louis Wirth, argued for the importance of housing as a field of sociological research. Now, seventy-five years later, the sociology of housing has still not developed as a distinct subfield, leaving efforts to understand housing’s place in society to other disciplines, such as economics and urban planning. With this volume, the editors and contributors solidify the importance of housing studies within the discipline of sociology by tackling topics like racial segregation, housing instability, the supply of affordable housing, and the process of eviction. In doing so, they showcase the very best traditions of sociology: they draw on diverse methodologies, present unique field sites and data sources, and foreground a range of theoretical approaches to elucidate the relationships between contemporary housing, public policy, and key social outcomes. The Sociology of Housing is a landmark volume that will be used by researchers and students alike to define this growing subfield, map continued directions for research, and center sociologists in interdisciplinary conversations about housing.

Studies in housing have often concentrated on an abstract institutionalised approach isolated from the broader base of the social sciences. This book is the first to treat housing as a subject of social theory. It provides a critique of current research and theorises housing in relation to political science, social change and welfare developing a case study to illustrate these applications. By being sometimes controversial, this book will stimulate debate among housing theorists and sociologists alike. The Author is currently Senior Research fellow at the Swedish Institute for Building Research and Docent in Sociology at Uppsala University. He has written widely on Housing, Urban Studies and Sociology and his books include THE MYTH OF HOME OWNERSHIP and THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN NIGHTMARE.

This is Volume XIV of eighteen in a collection of works on Public Policy, Welfare and Social Work. Originally published in 1964, this is a study of Berinsfield which was originally a rural slum known as Field Farm in Oxfordshire.

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Vancouver today is recognized as one of the most livable cities in the world as well as an international model for sustainability and urbanism. Single-family homes in this city are “a dying breed.” Most people live in the various low-rise and high-rise urban alternatives throughout the metropolitan area. The Death and Life of the Single-Family House explains how residents in Vancouver attempt to make themselves at home without a house. Local sociologist Nathanael Lauster has painstakingly studied the city’s dramatic transformation to curb sprawl. He tracks the history of housing and interviews residents about the cultural importance of the house as well as the urban problems it once appeared to solve. Although Vancouver’s built environment is unique, Lauster argues that it was never predestined by geography or demography. Instead, regulatory transformations enabled the city to renovate, build over, and build around the house. Moreover, he insists, there are lessons here for the rest of North America. We can start building our cities differently, and without sacrificing their livability.

A landmark volume about the importance of housing in social life. In 1947, the president of the American Sociological Association argued for the importance of housing as a field of sociological research. Yet seventy-five years later, the sociology of housing has not developed as a distinct field, leaving efforts to understand housing's place in society to other disciplines, such as economics and urban planning. This volume intends to change that, solidifying the place of housing studies as a distinct subfield within the discipline of sociology, showing that housing is both an important element of sociology and a significant component of social life that deserves dedicated attention as a distinct area of research. To do so, the book takes stock of the current field of scholarship and provides new directions for study. The contributors showcase the very best traditions of sociology--they draw on diverse methodological approaches, present unique field sites and data sources, and foreground sociological theory to understand contemporary housing issues. The Sociology of Housing will be a landmark volume, used by researchers and students alike as an introduction to this crucial field and a map of its future potential.

In every major city in the world there is a housing crisis. How did this happen and what can we do about it? Everyone needs and deserves housing. But today our homes are being transformed into commodities, making the inequalities of the city ever more acute. Profit has become more important than social need. The poor are forced to pay more for worse housing. Communities are faced with the violence of displacement and gentrification. And the benefits of decent housing are only available for those who can afford it. In Defense of Housing is the definitive statement on this crisis from leading urban planner Peter Marcuse and sociologist David Madden. They look at the causes and consequences of the housing problem and detail the need for progressive alternatives. The housing crisis cannot be solved by minor policy shifts, they argue. Rather, the housing crisis has deep political and economic roots—and therefore requires a radical response.