Peter Marcuse is a Professor of Urban Planning at Columbia University whose work delves into the complexities of urban spaces and their societal impact. He critically examines how planning policies and architectural designs can shape social interactions and inequalities. His writing is characterized by its depth and a focus on thoughtful consideration of how we construct our urban environments.
This classic text delves into the complexities of the housing crisis, offering insights into its causes and implications. It examines the interplay between economic factors, policy decisions, and social issues that contribute to housing instability. The new edition includes updated data and perspectives, making it relevant for contemporary discussions on housing affordability and urban development. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of the systemic challenges and potential solutions to the ongoing crisis in housing.
With rapid increases in urban populations, there is an urgent need to transform our world's cities in keeping with ecological imperatives and democratic principles. A growing worldwide citizen movement is attempting to challenge bureaucratic administrations and replace the politics of fear with neighborhood power, direct democracy, and solidarity. They believe that threats of capitalism, totalitarianism, and climate change require imaginative political resistance rooted where they live. Combining political theory, philosophy, history, and intimate narrative, Take the City presents an expansive view of municipalist movements around the world. With over twenty contributors, including David Harvey, this anthology provides crucial insights into the challenges ahead by looking at and beyond municipal electoral politics. Stories of diverse regions and issues illuminate the nuances of municipalist movements of the past and present, providing a roadmap of the fight for our future. From Seattle to Kurdistan, Burlington to Oaxaca, Barcelona to Mississippi, and Vienna to Montreal, contributors carefully consider the intertwined questions concerning current crises in housing, the environment, democracy, and capitalism.
In every major city in the world there is a housing crisis. How did this happen and what can we do about it? Everyone needs and deserves housing. But today our homes are being transformed into commodities, making the inequalities of the city ever more acute. Profit has become more important than social need. The poor are forced to pay more for worse housing. Communities are faced with the violence of displacement and gentrification. And the benefits of decent housing are only available for those who can afford it. In Defense of Housing is the definitive statement on this crisis from leading urban planner Peter Marcuse and sociologist David Madden. They look at the causes and consequences of the housing problem and detail the need for progressive alternatives. The housing crisis cannot be solved by minor policy shifts, they argue. Rather, the housing crisis has deep political and economic roots—and therefore requires a radical response.
