Housing Law Commons^™

Environmental Justice In Little Village: A Case For Reforming Chicago’S Zoning Law, Charles Isaacs

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Chicago’s Little Village community bears the heavy burden of environmental injustice and racism. The residents are mostly immigrants and people of color who live with low levels of income, limited access to healthcare, and disproportionate levels of dangerous air pollution. Before its retirement, Little Village’s Crawford coal-burning power plant was the lead source of air pollution, contributing to 41 deaths, 550 emergency room visits, and 2,800 asthma attacks per year. After the plant’s retirement, community members wanted a say on the future use of the lot, only to be closed out when a corporation, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, bought the lot …

Families Belong Together: The Path To Family Sanctity In Public Housing, Mckayla Stokes

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In its 2015 landmark civil rights decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court finally held that the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution guarantee same-sex couples’ marital equality. The Court’s unprecedented declaration that the right to marry is a fundamental right under the Due Process Clause strengthened married couples’ right to privacy because it subjects government actions infringing on marital unions to heightened scrutiny. The Supreme Court has the option to minimize the impact of Obergefell by interpreting the right to marriage very narrowly—as only encompassing the right to enter into a state-recognized union …

Is Airbnb Polluting The Big Apple? The Impact Of Regulating The Short-Term Rental Service In New York City, Kayla Laskin

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

Imagine your boss calls you into his office on a Monday morning. You think you are going to chat about the weekly agenda ahead; however, you notice the sullen look on your boss’s face. You immediately become nervous and think that no good news could possibly come from this meeting. You begin to glance over his desk and notice printouts for unemployment counseling and job listings in the area. Sheer panic begins to spread throughout your body, and then your boss states, “I’m sorry, we’re going to have to let you go.” Your stomach drops to the floor. Your …