Encyclopedia of the Great Black Migration Greenwood Milestones in African American History Book

Gwendolyn Wright takes you through the complexities of collectivized housing in America, the shapes it took on (successful and unsuccessful), its role in social development, and all the challenges it has faced from both the private and public sector. She is not afraid to tell it how it is in exposing the inequities and oppression produced by housing developments (eg. “Housing reformers saw themselves as a moral police force, using environmental change to enforce propriety”), and this voice is helpful in identifying the intentions of those in power over housing.

In tandem to the development of social housing, which was necessitated by the popularization of other forms of housing, this book provides great insight on the phenomenon of suburbs that defines American housing -- projected from a federal level and seduced Americans through a cult of domesticity that perpetuates traditional family values ; “As Americans sought to protect their investments in suburban real estate, family life, and social status, they introduced new forms of control over their residential neighbourhoods.” I also appreciate that she highlights that the housing experience is not the same for all Americans -- describing the stories and experiences of communities of colour. Each chapter flows well into the next, spinning the story of social housing as dominated by philanthropic reformists, federal housing policies, urban renewal, exclusionary home-ownership, redlining, and much more. A good read for architects, planners, or anyone interested in understanding the built landscape and why we live where we live.