updates

Peter Hepburn, Renee Louis, and Matthew …
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Gentrification’s Role in the Eviction Crisis

One of the fiercest debates in sociology and urban studies has concerned the nature of gentrification. Analyzing eviction in cities across the country, we show that eviction rates were lower and decreasing faster in gentrifying areas.

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Lillian Leung, Peter Hepburn, James …
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Public Housing and the Threat of Eviction

Public housing authorities (PHAs) are responsible for a disproportionate share of eviction cases in many cities across the U.S. In an article published in Social Service Review, we take a closer look at these dynamics.

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Danya Keene, Whitney Denary, Annie …
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In Their Own Words: How Tenants Experienced Eviction Moratoria

We examine what moratoria meant to renters, how they shaped their well-being and housing security, how racism shaped policy effects, and how these experiences varied across different policy landscapes.

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Henry Gomory, Douglas S. Massey, James …
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When it’s cheap to file an eviction case, tenants pay the price

We wanted to understand how these filing fees affected eviction patterns. We found that higher filing fees lead to lower eviction rates, and that effects are largest for renters in majority-Black neighborhoods.

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Henry Gomory and Matthew Desmond
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Extractive landlord strategies: How the private rental market creates crime hot spots

In addition to fostering housing insecurity and creating hazardous living conditions for their tenants, landlords who rely on extractive strategies make their properties and neighborhoods less safe.

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Peter Hepburn, Jacob Haas, Nick Graetz, …
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COVID-era policies cut eviction filings by more than half

Responding to the unfolding emergency of COVID-19, policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels enacted a range of new policies. These policies drove eviction filing rates to historic lows.

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Matt Mleczko and Matthew Desmond
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To reform exclusionary zoning, we first need to document it. Now we have a tool for that.

The U.S. needs more housing—lots of it. We have millions fewer housing units than we need, particularly affordable housing units. This shortfall has devastating impacts, especially for low-income renters.

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