Law Commons^™

Affordable Housing And Civic Participation: Two Sides Of The Same Coin, Goutam U. Jois

Goutam U Jois

Over the past several decades, America’s inner cities have deteriorated socially, economically, and politically. Simultaneously, civic engagement, almost by any measure, has been on the decline: Americans vote less and volunteer less, go out to dinner with friends less and attend PTA meetings less. In this Article, I argue that the two phenomena are linked, at least from the perspective of remedies. Specifically, by rebuilding our inner cities to promote mixed-use, mixed-income development, we can revitalize some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in our country while simultaneously engendering the mechanisms to foster increased civic engagement in our participatory democracy.

Large-Scale Disasters Attacking The American Dream: How To Protect And Empower Homeowners And Lenders, Matthew D. Ekins

Matthew D Ekins

The 2005 hurricane season reminded the world that such catastrophes can and do occur anywhere at anytime. Recovery efforts continue long after tides recede and after-shocks cease. In the context of Hurricane Katrina, this article examines the homeowner-lender relationship to determine risks natural disasters pose to the mortgage industry, likely repercussions a fallout in the mortgage industry may have on the health of the general economy, and what preventative steps have been and may be taken to prevent further economic suffering in a post-catastrophe environment.

Five Myths About Sprawl , Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

In Sprawl: A Compact History, Robert Bruegmann, an art historian, has painted a superficially convincing case for the status quo, asserting that sprawl is “a natural result of affluence that occurs in all urbanized societies.” Bruegmann's book has generated glowing media publicity. This article suggests that Bruegmann overestimates the universality of sprawl, by overlooking the differences between pedestrian-friendly cities with some sprawling development and cities in which automobile-dependent sprawl is the only choice available to most consumers. In addition, Bruegmann understates the harmful social effects of sprawl, especially the effect of automobile-dependent development upon non-drivers. Bruegmann also consistently underestimates the …

Housingdiscrimination.Com?: The Ninth Circuit (Mostly) Puts Out The Welcome Mat For Fair Housing Act Suits Against Roommate-Matching Websites (Fair Housing Council Of San Fernando Valley V. Roommates.Com, Llc), Diane J. Klein, Charles Doskow

Diane J Klein

This Article analyzes the recent 9th Circuit decision in FHC v. Roommates.com, reversing and remanding to the district court after finding that § 203(c) of the Communications Decency Act does not provide immunity to housing websites under § 3604(c) of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The Article argues that housing websites should be held to the same standard as other advertisers of residential real estate under the FHA, and that Roommates.com is a “content provider” and hence liable for violating the FHA by disseminating advertisements that demonstrate discriminatory preferences on the basis of race, age, religion, disability, etc. The Article …

Demolition By Neglect: Repairing Buildings By Repairing Legislation, Anna Martin

Georgetown Law Historic Preservation Papers Series

One of the biggest problems today facing communities with historic preservation ordinances is delinquent owners who don’t have the will or the finances to maintain their historic properties and landmarks. Historic preservation law plays an important role in building a sense of patriotism and community togetherness, fostering education and providing incentives for aesthetically pleasing architecture. When residents can identify with a community, this creates a dialogue and sense of belonging. There are also environmental and psychological impacts of preserving old buildings, since human beings are positively affected by their surroundings when they feel a "sense of place." When buildings in …

Conservation Districts: A Solution For The Deanwood Neighborhood?, Kelly B. Bissinger

Georgetown Law Historic Preservation Papers Series

Preserving and protecting home ownership and the affordable housing in the United States remains a serious concern despite numerous federal programs intended to encourage home ownership and to provide affordable housing to low-income individuals and families. Often times, low-income people live in older, run-down neighborhoods in urban areas. There is a constant threat that developers will purchase properties in these areas in order to demolish or renovate existing structures and redevelop the area (this process is often referred to as "gentrification").

One of the consequences of gentrification is the displacement of low-income residents. In those instances where low-income residents own …

Crossing The Constitutional Border: An Analysis Of Illegal Immigrants' Rights In America, Cheryl L. Torralba

Cheryl L. Torralba

I wrote my comment on the constitutional issues concerning the Illegal Immigration Relief Act (IIRA) that was passed in Hazleton, PA on July 13, 2006. This act penalizes landlords and employers that hire or lease housing to illegal immigrants leading to constitutional violations to the Latino-American community and mixed status families of Hazleton. First, I discuss the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection violations that the IIRA implies since it is too overbroad and is not narrowly tailored enough to serve a compelling government interest. Second, I argue that the IIRA violates the procedural due process rights of suspected illegal immigrants because …

Local Inclusionary Housing Programs: Meeting Housing Needs, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article explores the expansive legal authority that local governments in many states have to meet housing needs directly by providing for the production of new affordable homes. There is not a great deal of scholarship on the subject as we approach it. The emphasis in the academic literature in the field of affordable housing is on top-down, systemic, or theoretical solutions: urging reforms in federal and state finance programs, imploring courts to penalize localities that engage in exclusionary zoning, describing in detail a variety of inclusionary zoning techniques, or explaining relevant theories or the economics of the issue of …

Striking A Match In The Historic District: Opposition To Historic Preservation And Responsive Community Building, Sarah N. Conde

Georgetown Law Historic Preservation Papers Series

In her 1981 Stanford Law Review article, Carol Rose articulated as a justification for the historic preservation "vogue" a community building rationale that transformed preservation from an end in itself to a means for community self-definition. Procedurally, Rose argued, preservation laws give communities the power to comment on the direction of development, and impurity of motive does not weaken the cause of community members who use the tools preservation law gives them. Suppose, she suggested, that the primary concern of neighbors is avoiding massive construction, and they emphasize history only as an instrument to oppose change. Such a motive is …

American Cities, Urban Planning, And Place Based Crime Prevetion, Edward H. Ziegler

Edward H Ziegler

Nearly a generation after Oscar Newman first wrote about the issues of place-based crime prevention and defensible space, cities large and small throughout the world are showing interest in what is now generally known as the field of “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.” In the United States and elsewhere throughout the world, preventing crime and reducing the fear of crime continue to be high priorities of citizens and city officials. Place-based crime prevention techniques are increasingly viewed as important urban planning tools to enhance the physical safety of citizens and to protect the public and private economic investment in new …

Housing Policy In The People's Republic Of China: Successes And Disappointments, Joyce Palomar, Jianbo Lou

Joyce Palomar

ABSTRACT: This paper is written and submitted by Peking University (Beijing University) Center for Real Estate Law, Director, Prof. Lou Jianbo, and Assistant Director, Prof. Joyce Palomar, authors. The paper examines the People's Republic of China's national approaches beginning in 1948 to the nation's urban housing crisis. The paper focuses on policy approaches and strategies for activating the private sector as a means to improve housing conditions. It presents recent statistical results of the application of housing as a leading economic development sector.

Is Acquisition Everything? Protecting The Rights Of Occupants Under The Fair Housing Act, Rigel C. Oliveri

Rigel C. Oliveri

This Article addresses a recent trend among the federal courts to deny housing discrimination claims under the Fair Housing Act in cases where the plaintiff was an occupant of the housing at the time the discrimination occurred. Put another way, the courts have begun to read the Act as protecting only the right to obtain housing, not the right to occupy that housing free of discrimination. The trend was begun by a 2004 Seventh Circuit opinion authored by Judge Richard Posner in the case of Halprin v. The Prairie Single Family Homes. The Halprin court dismissed the discrimination claims of …

Property And Radically Changed Circumstances, John Lovett

John Lovett

Although Hurricane Katrina altered our national dialogue about many issues, few scholars have addressed whether the storm changed thinking about fundamental property relationships. This article fills that void in two ways. First, it creates a theoretical framework for understanding property law in the context of events producing radically changed circumstances. It does this by defining these events, exploring the mismatch between property law’s traditional focus on stability and environments of radical change, creating a taxonomy of property relationships tailored for this exploration, describing typical problems confronted after an event of radical change, and finally developing a set of normative criteria …