Contextualizing Affordable Housing Resistance and Exclusion

Yvette Chen, Oberlin CollegeFollow

Location

King Building 337

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-29-2016 2:45 PM

End Date

4-29-2016 3:45 PM

Abstract

In 1970, the mayor of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, told a crowd of African Americans, “If you people can’t afford to live in our town, then you’ll just have to leave.” Since then, state legislation has banned exclusionary zoning and required towns to provide their fair share of affordable housing. However, New Jersey remains segregated. My research analyzes 140 recent municipal housing plans to understand how allocation of affordable housing fits into longer-run trends of racial discrimination and residential segregation. I find that towns fulfilling less of their affordable housing obligations have higher incomes and avoid building physical units by relying on bonus credits.

Notes

Session II, Panel 9 - "On the Right Side of History": Studies of Structures, Agents, and Resistance
Moderator: Gina Perez, Associate Professor of Comparative American Studies

Major

Economics; Sociology

Advisor(s)

Ron Cheung, Economics
Clovis White, Sociology

Project Mentor(s)

Rick Baldoz, Sociology

April 2016

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Apr 29th, 2:45 PM Apr 29th, 3:45 PM

Contextualizing Affordable Housing Resistance and Exclusion

King Building 337

In 1970, the mayor of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, told a crowd of African Americans, “If you people can’t afford to live in our town, then you’ll just have to leave.” Since then, state legislation has banned exclusionary zoning and required towns to provide their fair share of affordable housing. However, New Jersey remains segregated. My research analyzes 140 recent municipal housing plans to understand how allocation of affordable housing fits into longer-run trends of racial discrimination and residential segregation. I find that towns fulfilling less of their affordable housing obligations have higher incomes and avoid building physical units by relying on bonus credits.