How have conditions changed since 1970 in neighborhoods where Black residents are the largest racial or ethnic group? Mike Lens wrote a whole book on the subject: Where the Hood At? Fifty Years of Change in Black Neighborhoods. He takes the guest mic to share what he learned.

Book summary: Substantial gaps exist between Black Americans and other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., most glaringly Whites, across virtually all quality-of-life indicators. Despite strong evidence that neighborhood residence affects life outcomes, we lack a comprehensive picture of Black neighborhood conditions and how they have changed over time. In Where the Hood At? urban planning and public policy scholar Michael C. Lens examines the characteristics and trajectories of Black neighborhoods across the U.S. over the fifty years since the Fair Housing Act.

Show notes:

• Lens, M. C. (2024). Where the Hood At? Fifty Years of Change in Black Neighborhoods. Russell Sage Foundation.
• Website for Lisa Belkin’s book about public housing integration in Yonkers, NY, Show Me a Hero.
• IMDb page for the Show Me a Hero tv miniseries on HBO.
• Million Dollar Hoods website.
• Episode 52 of UCLA Housing Voice: Community Land Trusts with Annette Kim.
• Episode 40 of UCLA Housing Voice: Valuing Black Lives and Housing with Andre Perry.

On January 7th, the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted in Los Angeles, killing dozens of people, displacing tens of thousands, and destroying more than 15,000 structures. What will this mean for housing affordability in the already-strained region? Hannah Hennighausen joins to share her research on the 2018 Camp Fire's effect on housing prices and migration, and its lessons for LA and other cities threatened by natural disasters.

Show notes:

• Hennighausen, H., & James, A. (2024). Catastrophic fires, human displacement, and real estate prices in California. Journal of Housing Economics, 66, 102023.
• Episode 85 of This American Life, “When the Beasts Come Marching In.”
• CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone viewer (interactive map).
• 99% Invisible’s “Not Built For This” podcast episode on the Camp Fire’s ripple effect beyond the fire’s perimeter.
• Reporting from local journalist Alissa Walker on volunteers identifying cases of rent-gouging following the LA fires.

Rent control is one of the most hotly debated housing policies, and also one of the most researched. Konstantin Kholodilin reviewed over 200 rent control studies, dating back decades and spanning six continents, and he joins us to give an overview of their results.

Show notes:

• Kholodilin, K. A. (2024). Rent control effects through the lens of empirical research: An almost complete review of the literature. Journal of Housing Economics, 101983.
• Konstantin’s massive database of rent control policies across the world: Longitudinal database of rental housing market regulations: 100+ countries over 100+ years.
• Kholodilin, K. (2020). Long-term, multicountry perspective on rental market regulations. Housing Policy Debate, 30(6), 994-1015.
• Wikipedia article on ‘kommunalka’ (communal apartment).
• Fogelson, R. M. (2013). The Great Rent Wars: New York, 1917-1929. Yale University Press.
• Episode 36 of UCLA Housing Voice on rent control in India with Sahil Gandhi and Richard Green.
• Willis, J. W. (1948). State rent-control legislation, 1946-1947. The Yale Law Journal, 57(3), 351-376.