Just Housing

A new conception of housing justice grounded in moral principles that appeal to the home’s special connection to American life.

In response to the twin crises of homelessness and housing insecurity, an emerging “housing justice” coalition argues that America’s apparent inability to provide decent housing for all is a moral failing. Yet if housing is a right, as housing justice advocates contend, what is the content of that right? In a wide-ranging examination of these issues, Casey Dawkins chronicles the concept of housing justice, investigates the moral foundations of the US housing reform tradition, and proposes a new conception of housing justice that is grounded in moral principles that appeal to the home’s special connection to American life.
            Dawkins examines the conceptual foundations of justice and explores the social meaning of the American home. He chronicles the evolution of American housing reform, showing how housing policy was pieced together from layers of housing and land-use policies enacted over time, and investigates the endurance—from the founding of the republic through the postwar era—of the owned single-family home as the embodiment of national values. Finally, Dawkins considers housing justice, drawing on elements of liberalism, republicanism, progressivism, and pragmatism to defend a right-based conception of housing justice grounded in the ideal of civil equality. Arguing that any defense of private property must appeal to the interests of those whose tenure is made insecure by the institution of private property, he proposes a “secure tenure” property regime and a “negative housing tax” that would fund a guaranteed housing allowance.Preface
Acknowledgements
Part I: Foundations
Introduction
1 The Materials of American Housing Justice
Part II: Context
2 The Natural Right to a Homestead
3 Housing for the Common Good
4 Modern Housing and the Homeownership Republic
5 Homes without Foundations
Part III: Structure
6 The Architecture of Housing Justice
7 Private Property and the Injustice of Tenure Insecurity
8 Taking Housing Justice Seriously
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index“A very relevant and a high-quality contribution to the literature on housing and urban studies.”
—Edwin Buitelaar, Papers in Regional Science

“A thorough, engaging treatise on housing justice. Anyone focused on social justice issues generally will have a great deal of interest in Dawkins’s book.”
—CHOICE

“An important contribution to the American housing policy and advocacy conversation.”
—Journal of Urban Affairs

“Makes a strong case for its argument regarding housing security. Further, it goes beyond most discussions of housing policy in specifying the broad purposes of policy and rooting them in the theoretical literature.”
—International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
“Dawkins’s Just Housing is the definitive volume on the ethical bases and imperatives of an American ‘right to home.’ Thoroughly researched, beautifully written. A must-read for anyone interested in justice.”
—Sonia Hirt, Dean and Hughes Professor in Landscape Architecture and Planning, College of Environment + Design, University of Georgia
 
“Grounded in a sophisticated analysis of theories of justice, Just Housing offers an original approach to guaranteeing the right to housing while supporting the continued reliance on private property.”
—Susan Fainstein, Senior Research Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Design; author of The Just City
 
“Casey Dawkins’s superb Just Housing provides an indispensable moral foundation alongside practical guidance for the next generation of progressive housing policies.”
—George Galster, Distinguished Professor of Urban Affairs, Wayne State UniversityCasey J. Dawkins is Professor of Urban Studies and Planning and Affiliate of the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland. He is coauthor of The Social Impacts of Urban Containment.