Book: Desmond, Matthews. 2016. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. The Crown Publishing Group.

Due: April 1 (post on iLearn) (25% of course grade)

Format: 3 single-spaced pages; 12 point Times Roman font, single spaced text and 1 inch margins all around the page

In his book, titled “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City”, Matthew Desmond (a Harvard sociologist and 2015 MacArthur “Genius” Award winner) examines how the private rental housing market functions in the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee. He finds that families in poor neighborhoods spend most of their income on housing and eviction has become routine. He unearths a vicious cycle that deepens vast inequality in housing markets.

After reading this book, present your analysis and reflections as it relates to housing issues and policies that we have discussed in class and class readings. The characters portrayed in the book bring to life some of the policy issues we have been discussing in class (e.g., rent burden, discrimination in housing markets, housing standards, tenant rights). At the end of the book, Desmond advocates for housing vouchers. Be sure to discuss this demand-side policy and its strengths and weaknesses. How do housing vouchers differ from supply-side interventions (e.g., direct production of public housing)?