The Sociology of Housing: How Homes Shape Our Social Lives - Hardcover

by Brian J. McCabe (Editor), Eva Rosen (Editor)

A landmark volume about the importance of housing in social life.

In 1947, the president of the American Sociological Association, Louis Wirth, argued for the importance of housing as a field of sociological research. Now, seventy-five years later, the sociology of housing has still not developed as a distinct subfield, leaving efforts to understand housing's place in society to other disciplines, such as economics and urban planning. With this volume, the editors and contributors solidify the importance of housing studies within the discipline of sociology by tackling topics like racial segregation, housing instability, the supply of affordable housing, and the process of eviction. In doing so, they showcase the very best traditions of sociology: they draw on diverse methodologies, present unique field sites and data sources, and foreground a range of theoretical approaches to elucidate the relationships between contemporary housing, public policy, and key social outcomes.

The Sociology of Housing is a landmark volume that will be used by researchers and students alike to define this growing subfield, map continued directions for research, and center sociologists in interdisciplinary conversations about housing.

Author Biography

Brian J. McCabe is associate professor of sociology at Georgetown University and an affiliated faculty member at the McCourt School of Public Policy. He is the author of No Place Like Home: Wealth, Community and the Politics of Homeownership. Eva Rosen is associate professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy and an affiliated faculty member in the department of sociology. She is the author of The Voucher Promise: "Section 8" and the Fate of an American Neighborhood.