Subjects:  1. Housing & Urban Development    2. Law   

Reviews (2)

You won't find these hotels in any travel guide
Much has been written about luxury hotels, but Paul Groth has chosen an overlooked subject: the bottom-rung hotels, often known as SROs (single-room occupancy), that serve as homes for those at the margins of society. Groth is an architecture professor who has actually lived in such places, which gives a refreshing personal touch to the book. He discusses the physical characteristics of such buildings, combined with a sympathetic description of who lives in them and what their lives are like. At the end of the book, Groth argues that SRO residents have been overlooked in urban renewal, and he explains how naive it is to expect that demolition of SROs will cause their residents to disappear. A Meticulous Study of Hotel Culture and the SRO Crisis
Living Downtown is an evocative study of residence hotels, a misunderstood and often maligned type of housing stock.The book is effectively split into two parts: an examination of types of residence hotels and a discussion of how progressive ideals became policies that would instigate the SRO crisis following World War II.In his exploration of the history of residence hotels, Groth categorizes the structures into four categories based on class and presents anecdotes and newspaper accounts to paint a picture of how their residents and owners once lived, worked and interacted.The balance of the book is given over to analysis of how the attitudes of a few urban critics came to set national and local policies regarding housing and residence hotels, and how the demolition of the latter would create housing crises in cities across the country.Numerous schematic drawings and photographs show the layout of various residence hotels and the context of the neighborhoods in which they existed.Groth relies heavily on San Francisco examples to prove his points, but he presents cases from other cities as well, though sometimes in passing.Overall this book does an excellent job of explaining the residence hotel and the roots of the SRO crisis.Architects, planners, historians and even sociologists should find it an absorbing read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture and society    2. History    3. Hotels    4. HotelsInnsetc.    5. Housing (Sociological Aspects)    6. Single-room occupancy hotels    7. Sociology    8. Sociology - Urban    9. United States    10. Architecture / General    11. Hotel & holiday accommodation guides    12. Housing    13. Social history    14. USA    15. Urban communities   

Subjects:  1. Discrimination in housing    2. Government policy    3. Housing & Urban Development    4. Housing policy    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    9. Public Policy - Social Policy    10. Sociology - Urban    11. States    12. United States    13. Central government policies    14. Housing    15. Racism & racial discrimination    16. USA    17. Urban & municipal planning    18. Urban communities   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Drafting    3. General    4. Planning    5. Architecture / Planning    6. City & town planning - architectural aspects    7. Housing   

Reviews (3)

The American Dream: Deferred no longer
The effect of environmental influences on individuals has long been debated by social theorists and is also a popular topic for literature (cf. Conrad's "Heart of Darkness").These debates persist because it is usually impossible to decouple the effect of environment from confounding factors, such as income or educational attainment.Generally, it is not possible to conduct a controlled random experiment in which similar individuals are sent to different environments and their fates compared. Excellent review of the best experiment with integration
In 1965, Black residents of public housing filed a civil rights suit alleging that public housing in Chicago was segregated.they won in 1969.This book tells (part of) the story of the 30 year struggle for relief which followed that victory. A good primer on Gautreaux
This book is a good primer on the Chicago public housing desegregation lawsuit known as Gautreaux, and on the mobility program resulting from that lawsuit.Under the Gautreaux mobility program, thousands of families movedfrom low-income Chicago neighborhoods into white, middle-class suburbs. This book charts the progress of these suburban pioneers--both the good(e.g., safer communities and better schools), and the bad (e.g., isolationand racial harassment).The authors examine the results of studiesconducted in the early and late 1980's, studies that focused on the issuesof safety, socialcontacts, schooling, and jobs.The book shows just howradically the Gautreaux families' lives changed--and, for the most part,improved.In so doing, the authors debunk the "culture ofpoverty" myth--the notion that low-income African-American familiesare too dysfunctional to seize opportunities to improve their lives. Instead, argue the authors, low-income families can thrive in any"geography of opportunity"--any place where they find realopportunities to improve their lives.This book is best suited foradvocates not already familiar with Gautreaux--to a large extent itrepackages studies reported years ago.But it is an important book for thegeneral public, and for policy makers who care about improving the lives ofsociety's most vulnerable citizens. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Minority Studies - Race Relations    2. Social Science    3. Sociology    4. Sociology - Urban    5. Black studies    6. Housing    7. Illinois    8. Multicultural studies    9. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000    10. Social & cultural anthropology    11. Social Science / Sociology / Urban    12. Social mobility    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. Housing development    2. Housing policy    3. New York    4. New York (State)    5. Political Science    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    10. Public Policy - General    11. Public Policy - Regional Planning    12. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    13. Sociology - Urban   

Subjects:  1. Africa - South - South Africa    2. Cape Town    3. Housing    4. Housing (Sociological Aspects)    5. Lodging-houses    6. Migrant labor    7. Minority Studies - General    8. Social Conditions Of Labor    9. Social conditions    10. Sociology    11. South Africa    12. Social Science / Minority Studies    13. Work & labour   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. General    3. Housing    4. Labor & Industrial Relations - General    5. Planning    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Psychological aspects    8. Social & cultural anthropology   

Reviews (1)

A Decent Place to Live, Indeed
This is a book detailing the entire history of a Boston neighborhood I lived in for 5 years ('89-'94). And...it's good! It's well-written, comprehensive, & thoroughly researched.
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Subjects:  1. Boston    2. Case studies    3. City planning    4. History    5. Massachusetts    6. Planning    7. Political Science    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    10. Public housing    11. Sociology    12. Sociology - Urban    13. United States - State & Local - General    14. Urban renewal    15. Housing    16. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    17. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000    18. Social groups & communities    19. Travel / United States / Northeast / New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)    20. Urban & municipal planning   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Political Science    4. Politics/International Relations    5. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    6. Third World Development    7. Housing    8. Social Science / Third World Development    9. Zimbabwe   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. England    3. Europe - Great Britain - General    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Housing    8. Housing policy    9. London    10. Slums    11. Social History    12. Sociology - Urban    13. British & Irish history: c 1700 to c 1900    14. Central government policies    15. History / General    16. London, Greater London    17. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. Actions and defenses    2. Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice    3. Housing & Urban Development    4. Insurance    5. Law    6. Law and legislation    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Molds (Fungi)    9. Personal injuries    10. Property    11. United States   

Subjects:  1. Federal aid to housing    2. History    3. Housing (Social Welfare Aspects)    4. Housing policy    5. Political Science    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    8. United States    9. Housing   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Health/Fitness    3. Homeless Persons    4. Homelessness    5. Politics - Current Events    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Prevention    8. Public Health    9. Social Welfare Services For Special Classes    10. Social service    11. United States    12. Housing   

Subjects:  1. Great Britain    2. Housing    3. Planning    4. Regional planning    5. Architecture / Planning    6. City & town planning - architectural aspects    7. Local government    8. Microeconomics   

Subjects:  1. Environmental Science    2. General    3. Housing, Rural    4. Public Affairs & Administration    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Sociology - Rural    8. United States    9. Housing    10. Rural communities    11. Science / Environmental Science    12. Science-Environmental Science    13. Social Science / General    14. USA   

Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Gentrification    3. Human Geography    4. Middle class    5. Neighborhood    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Sociology - Urban    10. Urban Geography    11. Urban Sociology    12. Urban renewal    13. Cultural studies    14. Geography | Cultural, Social, Human    15. Housing    16. Social Science / Human Geography    17. Social classes    18. c 1960 to c 1970    19. c 1970 to c 1980    20. c 1980 to c 1990    21. c 1990 to c 2000   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. California    4. Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif    5. Homeless youth    6. Los Angeles    7. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    8. Services for    9. Sociology    10. Adolescents    11. Architecture / Planning    12. Homelessness    13. Housing   

Subjects:  1. Crime in public housing    2. Criminology    3. Ontario    4. Poverty    5. Public housing    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Sociology - Urban    9. Urban poor    10. Violent crimes    11. Causes & prevention of crime    12. Housing    13. Social Science / Criminology    14. Violence in society   

Reviews (2)

A Feminist Activist In Housing Policy
Houser is part biography and partintellectual history of the early days of idealsm and activism in the housing movement. Oberlander and Newbrun are effective in using a sensitive telling of the life of Catherine Bauer toevoke a sense in which housing policy today has lost its way despite thefoundations laid by Ms.Bauer and her colleagues. This book is a must readfor those interested in reviving American housing policies.

very informative, very enjoyable.
This book is not only required reading for anyone interested in public housing, but also very enjoyable as a lively account of a most attractive and courageous woman.It is fun to read about her amatory exploits on herfirst trip to Europe, exciting to read about her successes in public life,and sad to find out about her tragic death.I would recommend this book toanybody interested in a remarkable woman's career. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. History    3. History: American    4. Political    5. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    6. Women    7. World - General    8. Biography: general    9. Housing    10. USA