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maryreadstoomuch's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars - it took me a little while to get into the book but it picked up after the first chapter.
Taylor is very thorough and persuasive in laying out her argument of "predatory inclusion" - the end of redlining certainly didn't mean the end of discrimination. It was hard to read these horror stories of people conned into buying houses in terrible condition and to learn how these public-private partnerships benefited banks/investors instead of home buyers. The end of the book is a gut punch - Taylor ties the pivot away from equal housing and other Great Society programs to the general breakdown of the social contract. Really illuminating - I would recommend to anyone interested in policy and social justice.
Taylor is very thorough and persuasive in laying out her argument of "predatory inclusion" - the end of redlining certainly didn't mean the end of discrimination. It was hard to read these horror stories of people conned into buying houses in terrible condition and to learn how these public-private partnerships benefited banks/investors instead of home buyers. The end of the book is a gut punch - Taylor ties the pivot away from equal housing and other Great Society programs to the general breakdown of the social contract. Really illuminating - I would recommend to anyone interested in policy and social justice.
nadavdavid's review against another edition
4.0
A very dense read but learned a lot about the history of federal housing policies through the author’s lens of “predatory inclusion” and how those policies have reinforced racial capitalism and the US economy’s reliance on private ownership / private corporations as a means to delegitimize and disinvest in public goods.
ntab's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Finally finally got my brain in shape to tackle the hefty paragraphs of this very insightful book. Laser focused on the intersectionality of race and gender in cities just like Philadelphia and St. Louis and how market-based solutions are inherently flawed as they replicate the same racist structures that created the problems; in this case, segregated metro areas, dual markets, and intentionally-neglected housing. Also very well written. The rat attacks opening chapter is unforgettable.
ishdaya's review against another edition
5.0
Wowwwww. This book was incredibly insightful, and really takes you through a winding journey of housing policy between the late 60’s and early 70’s. This book is a brilliant analysis around root causes behind how historic housing policies failed. Each page takes like 5 minutes to read because of its density (at least for me), but I came out of each session reflecting on how we have taken some of these same concepts and implemented them and have continued to fail because we continue to look to the private sector or the ‘free market’ as a tool of advancement, rather than seeing it as a racist and defunct tool of oppression. Really well done, really dense, but so well worth it!
kevinhu's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Taylor unearths a little known history on the predatory practices of the housing industry, under the auspices of fair housing and federal subsidies, on black folks (particularly black women, many of whom were single mothers) decimated by redlining and segregation in the 60s and 70s. Written with both journalistic rigor and in-depth research, she distills the racialized scaffolds that uphold the market forces of the housing industry (racial capitalism) and demythologizes 'homeownership' as panacea to social, political, economic ills. She coins the idea of 'predatory inclusion' to demonstrate segregation and exploitation does not stop once exclusion ends. In doing so, she helps us to think beyond the binary of inclusion/exclusion to critique the very conditions, practices, transactions, and effects that take place once included.
For someone who has always seen homeownership as a black box with its theater of actors – lenders, appraisers, speculators, etc – to the carousel of fees, to how risk is calculated, to the difference between public/private, this book was clarifying.
For those interested in how the language around housing was manipulated after the 1968 Civil Rights Act (eradication of housing discrimination in policy) to fair housing, urban renewal, and then finally to Nixonian austerity laws and Reagonian war against social welfare, this study offers essential context.
For someone who has always seen homeownership as a black box with its theater of actors – lenders, appraisers, speculators, etc – to the carousel of fees, to how risk is calculated, to the difference between public/private, this book was clarifying.
For those interested in how the language around housing was manipulated after the 1968 Civil Rights Act (eradication of housing discrimination in policy) to fair housing, urban renewal, and then finally to Nixonian austerity laws and Reagonian war against social welfare, this study offers essential context.
mimima's review against another edition
4.0
Difficult to read - not in the style but in the topic. Depressing and frustrating, and clear about how systemic racism has affected the real estate community.
As it is a well-done master's thesis, ultimately, it is three stars as a book, but five in the information, which averages to the four stars.
As it is a well-done master's thesis, ultimately, it is three stars as a book, but five in the information, which averages to the four stars.
mslavelle215's review against another edition
5.0
If you have someone in your life who does not believe white privilege is "a thing," recommend this book to him. In reading this book, I learned so much more about how race is a factor in access to housing. Redlining is just the tip of the iceberg. Read this!