Housing Law Commons^™

Rhetoric And Realities Of Gentrification: Reply To Powell And Spencer, J. Peter Byrne

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Gentrification represents one of the most encouraging trends in city life since the 1960s. That may be a sad commentary on the fate of American cities or on our urban policies, but it is nevertheless true. The return of affluent people to urban living offers the possibility of reversing declining populations and municipal revenues, permitting enhanced spending on basic services, and increasing employment and educational opportunities. It also brings greater ethnic and economic diversity, which can contribute to a more humane social and cultural life. The great drawback to gentrification is that increased demand for housing increases rents, at least …

Two Cheers For Gentrification, J. Peter Byrne

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The very word "gentrification" implies distaste. Advocates for the poor and ethnic minorities see affluent whites bidding up the prices for urban housing to levels that force poor families out, depriving them of affordable housing, perhaps rendering them homeless, and changing the character of a neighborhood from one that reflects distinct ethnic and class needs and cultural traditions into a bland emporium for expensive consumer goods. Sometimes historic preservation laws are indicted as particular culprits in setting this dynamic in motion. A result of these perceptions is that the legal literature on gentrification, in general, and historic preservation both reflect …

Brief For Amici Curiae Aarp Et Al., United States Department Of Housing And Urban Development V. Rucker Et Al., Nos. 00-1770 & 00-1781 (U.S. Dec. 20, 2001), Peter B. Edelman

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Middle-Class Black Suburbs And The State Of Integration: A Post-Integrationist Vision For Metropolitan America, Sheryll Cashin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Despite the gradual move towards integration in the United States, segregated communities, divided along socio-economic and racial lines, continue to exist, and indeed have taken on new forms. Given the choice between racial segregation and integration as minority members of a community, some middle-class African Americans have chosen to create their own communities, thus forming the modern day middle-class black suburb. Now, majority African-American suburbs rest adjacent to majority-white suburbs, but the segregated communities share little but the town line.

In this Article, Professor Cashin addresses the timely and difficult question of whether the middle-class black suburb is a new …

Civil Rights In The New Decade: The Geography Of Opportunity, Sheryll Cashin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

It is truly an honor and a privilege to have been invited to return to my home state of Alabama to talk about the civil rights agenda in the new decade. Lest you think that I lack the appropriate credentials to speak on this issue, I will tell you that I did go to jail for the cause. At the age of four months, I was taken by my mother, Joan Carpenter Cashin, to a sit-in at a lunch counter in Huntsville, Alabama. When my mother was arrested, she insisted on taking me with her to jail. I am very …

Privatized Communities And The "Secession Of The Successful": Democracy And Fairness Beyond The Gate, Sheryll Cashin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this essay, I will reflect on how common interest developments, and their privatized spaces, are contributing to a broader phenomenon of civic secession, primarily by affluent property owners. In particular, I will analyze the way in which CIDs may affect electoral politics and the allocation of public resources by federal and state government. The chief threat of CIDs is that they exacerbate inequality in America while also exacerbating the challenges of governing. By giving the private property owner a formal context in which to feel justified in her view that she is "doing her part" simply by paying her …

The Future Of District Of Columbia Home Rule, Philip G. Schrag

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article begins by briefly reviewing the recent historical development of home rule. Next, it explores the ways in which the people of the District might obtain a greater voice in the national legislature and more genuine home rule. Finally, it suggests that the District's citizens may have to make a political choice, which they have until now avoided, between seeking gradual improvements in their political rights and pressing strongly for statehood.