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Homes for Living: The Fight for Social Housing and a New American Commons
The story of two NYC social housing co-ops, the choice they face on whether to privatize, and how their dilemma illuminates the contours of the housing crisis nationwide
Social housing is almost unheard of in the U.S.—where it exists at all, it is usually limited to low-income housing projects. The Mitchell-Lama program in NYC, however, has since the 1950s fostered thriving complexes of highly sought-after subsidized middle-class housing. Yet the stability of these complexes is now being threatened by a growing movement among residents to privatize their apartments. Privatization would remove these apartments from the social housing pool and allow residents to sell their units for millions of dollars on the free market.
Urban planner and oral historian Jonathan Tarleton introduces us to these residents, their way of life, and the pro- and anti-privatization camps into which they’ve coalesced. As both sides hand out pamphlets to their neighbors, campaigning and jockeying in the run-up to the privatization vote, their dilemma illuminates profound issues on the nature of housing in the United States—its commodification, those who argue that it should be a public good, its increasing scarcity and unaffordability, and questions of race, class, tenant rights, indigenous sovereignty, and what we owe each other.
Social housing is almost unheard of in the U.S.—where it exists at all, it is usually limited to low-income housing projects. The Mitchell-Lama program in NYC, however, has since the 1950s fostered thriving complexes of highly sought-after subsidized middle-class housing. Yet the stability of these complexes is now being threatened by a growing movement among residents to privatize their apartments. Privatization would remove these apartments from the social housing pool and allow residents to sell their units for millions of dollars on the free market.
Urban planner and oral historian Jonathan Tarleton introduces us to these residents, their way of life, and the pro- and anti-privatization camps into which they’ve coalesced. As both sides hand out pamphlets to their neighbors, campaigning and jockeying in the run-up to the privatization vote, their dilemma illuminates profound issues on the nature of housing in the United States—its commodification, those who argue that it should be a public good, its increasing scarcity and unaffordability, and questions of race, class, tenant rights, indigenous sovereignty, and what we owe each other.
280 pages, Hardcover
Published February 11, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 15, 2025
It's odd reading a book when you're (un)lucky to call the author a friend. Ours is a friendship strewn with differences. Some are religious; he's an Arsenal fan, and I'm right. He's also left a trail of wounded men in football pitches from Kenya to Washington (including myself), testament to his fierce play.
Still, it's unsurprising that he's written a book that could only be born out of empathy, cause that's his nature. I couldn't care less about the plight of the pro-privatisation voters who are willing to cheat future generations out of an unearned common good, nor the anti-privatisation group who will in any case be richer for their failure. What I am is proud of my friend for giving a shit.
Still, it's unsurprising that he's written a book that could only be born out of empathy, cause that's his nature. I couldn't care less about the plight of the pro-privatisation voters who are willing to cheat future generations out of an unearned common good, nor the anti-privatisation group who will in any case be richer for their failure. What I am is proud of my friend for giving a shit.
April 6, 2025
I love a good ethnography! This book is super well written and super informative, I knew nothing about limited equity co-ops before and found the personal and political dialogue surrounding their existence in the states really interesting. I also really appreciated the attention to the larger matter of what homeownership means in the United States, culturally and financially. The book really got me thinking about how, if we were to separate homeownership from the basis of pride as American, we could explore wealth as a collective community in so many more ways. Really good food for thought!
March 5, 2025
Jonathan Tarleton emerges fully formed with this debut volume on affordable housing in America's most real estate-mad metropolis. A masterpiece of oral history, Homes for Living draws on passionate narrators to chronicle two divergent battles over housing coop privatization with stories of personal conflicts both asinine and grand. Throughout, Tarleton shows deep respect for the coop warriors on both sides of the debate, even as he condemns the commodification of housing and champions the preservation of social housing as a public good. On the strength of this argument, Tarleton's entry is sure to find its way to planning school syllabi. Shining at the sentence level, it will not feel like required reading.
April 5, 2025
Bentuknya: limited-equity cooperative — para penghuni menjadi pemilik bersama yang tidak bisa menjual unitnya dengan harga pasar bebas, demi menjaga keterjangkauan jangka panjang.
🧑🤝🧑 Apa yang Membuatnya Istimewa?
Keputusan untuk menjual (privatisasi) atau mempertahankan struktur kolektif bukan hanya soal uang, tapi soal nilai-nilai bersama: Apakah komunitas ini masih percaya pada solidaritas, atau telah berubah jadi sekumpulan investor?
Ketika bahasa dan proses keuangan digunakan untuk membahas masa depan komunitas, maka perumahan berubah menjadi aset, bukan rumah. Bab ini menyoroti bagaimana warga melawan agar rumah tetap menjadi tempat tinggal, bukan alat spekulasi.
Bab ini menunjukkan bagaimana "hak untuk mendapatkan keuntungan" bisa menggerus semangat komunitas. Ketika pasar masuk ke dalam rumah, rumah tak lagi sekadar tempat tinggal—ia menjadi aset. Dan dari sinilah banyak kontradiksi sosial muncul.
Kepemilikan sejati bukanlah kemampuan untuk menjual dengan harga tinggi, melainkan kemauan untuk menjaga dan berbagi. Saat penghuni menolak privatisasi, mereka tidak hanya mempertahankan harga murah, tapi mempertahankan nilai kolektif, solidaritas, dan keadilan.
Kepemilikan tanah harus menjadi bentuk tanggung jawab moral dan sosial, bukan alat untuk mencari untung. Commons bukan hanya sistem alternatif, tapi bentuk perlawanan terhadap sistem yang telah mengasingkan masyarakat dari tanah mereka sendiri.
Gagasan abundance dalam bab ini bukan hanya soal banyaknya sumber daya, tapi soal berbagi dan merawat.
Heather McGhee menyebutnya sebagai solidarity dividend: ketika kita menolak politik zero-sum (jika kamu untung, aku rugi), semua pihak justru bisa mendapat manfaat.
Misalnya, dengan tidak menjual atau mengkomersialkan tanah, komunitas dapat menciptakan sistem ekonomi alternatif yang lebih adil dan berkelanjutan.
olitik bukan hanya soal kekuasaan, tapi soal merawat makna, membentuk narasi, dan membangun keberanian kolektif untuk menata masa depan bersama—dimulai dari rumah, lalu menjalar ke kota, dan ke sistem yang lebih besar.
Kemenangan yang Pahit
Meski secara ekonomi tampak “berhasil”, Southbridge berubah dari komunitas sosial menjadi aset elit.
Eva merasa kehilangan sesuatu yang lebih penting dari uang: nilai komunitas, keterjangkauan, dan rasa kepemilikan bersama.
⚖️ Pelajaran dari Epilog
Ketika perumahan sosial dijadikan alat untuk akumulasi pribadi, maka masyarakat yang seharusnya dilayani menjadi penonton.
Bahkan mereka yang “menang” secara materi tetap bisa merasa kalah secara nilai dan makna.
🧑🤝🧑 Apa yang Membuatnya Istimewa?
Keputusan untuk menjual (privatisasi) atau mempertahankan struktur kolektif bukan hanya soal uang, tapi soal nilai-nilai bersama: Apakah komunitas ini masih percaya pada solidaritas, atau telah berubah jadi sekumpulan investor?
Ketika bahasa dan proses keuangan digunakan untuk membahas masa depan komunitas, maka perumahan berubah menjadi aset, bukan rumah. Bab ini menyoroti bagaimana warga melawan agar rumah tetap menjadi tempat tinggal, bukan alat spekulasi.
Bab ini menunjukkan bagaimana "hak untuk mendapatkan keuntungan" bisa menggerus semangat komunitas. Ketika pasar masuk ke dalam rumah, rumah tak lagi sekadar tempat tinggal—ia menjadi aset. Dan dari sinilah banyak kontradiksi sosial muncul.
Kepemilikan sejati bukanlah kemampuan untuk menjual dengan harga tinggi, melainkan kemauan untuk menjaga dan berbagi. Saat penghuni menolak privatisasi, mereka tidak hanya mempertahankan harga murah, tapi mempertahankan nilai kolektif, solidaritas, dan keadilan.
Kepemilikan tanah harus menjadi bentuk tanggung jawab moral dan sosial, bukan alat untuk mencari untung. Commons bukan hanya sistem alternatif, tapi bentuk perlawanan terhadap sistem yang telah mengasingkan masyarakat dari tanah mereka sendiri.
Gagasan abundance dalam bab ini bukan hanya soal banyaknya sumber daya, tapi soal berbagi dan merawat.
Heather McGhee menyebutnya sebagai solidarity dividend: ketika kita menolak politik zero-sum (jika kamu untung, aku rugi), semua pihak justru bisa mendapat manfaat.
Misalnya, dengan tidak menjual atau mengkomersialkan tanah, komunitas dapat menciptakan sistem ekonomi alternatif yang lebih adil dan berkelanjutan.
olitik bukan hanya soal kekuasaan, tapi soal merawat makna, membentuk narasi, dan membangun keberanian kolektif untuk menata masa depan bersama—dimulai dari rumah, lalu menjalar ke kota, dan ke sistem yang lebih besar.
Kemenangan yang Pahit
Meski secara ekonomi tampak “berhasil”, Southbridge berubah dari komunitas sosial menjadi aset elit.
Eva merasa kehilangan sesuatu yang lebih penting dari uang: nilai komunitas, keterjangkauan, dan rasa kepemilikan bersama.
⚖️ Pelajaran dari Epilog
Ketika perumahan sosial dijadikan alat untuk akumulasi pribadi, maka masyarakat yang seharusnya dilayani menjadi penonton.
Bahkan mereka yang “menang” secara materi tetap bisa merasa kalah secara nilai dan makna.
March 6, 2025
A great story captured thoughtfully and comprehensively by a great storyteller. While the book may--and should!--land in policy and planning syllabi, Homes for Living is a fabulously accessible read for anyone curious about exploring big ideas about how our society has come to consider homes as commodities.
I'm a renter in a hot housing market (i.e., a metro area with insufficient homes), and the book gave practical context to shed light on how we got here. (Also, incidentally, why we can't have nice things?)
Tarleton zooms in and out, breaking down the complex, middle-income Mitchell-Lama program into simple components, then breaking them out to explain the motivations of the people and entities involved. He conveys each stance with empathy.
A snippet of one of these fundamentals:
"Given the origins of the program, the limited profit provisions were far from controversial--they were expected. The developer got paid for work with minimal risk, the cooperators got stable, quality housing at a reasonable price, and the city and state governments fulfilled a mission to provide basic shelter for an underserved segment of the populace considered a bulwark in the larger democratic endeavor.
The pedestrian nature of the model at the time, and its exotic status today, speaks to an inversion of exception and rule."
Then he dives back in, laying out loopholes and unintended consequences. Funny is seldom the word to describe he subject of housing, yet Tarleton manages to keep a light touch throughout the book (e.g, Mitchell-Lama as the "alpaca-evoking nickname" for the housing program created by two legislators). Come for the housing battles, stay for the smart, yummy prose.
I'm a renter in a hot housing market (i.e., a metro area with insufficient homes), and the book gave practical context to shed light on how we got here. (Also, incidentally, why we can't have nice things?)
Tarleton zooms in and out, breaking down the complex, middle-income Mitchell-Lama program into simple components, then breaking them out to explain the motivations of the people and entities involved. He conveys each stance with empathy.
A snippet of one of these fundamentals:
"Given the origins of the program, the limited profit provisions were far from controversial--they were expected. The developer got paid for work with minimal risk, the cooperators got stable, quality housing at a reasonable price, and the city and state governments fulfilled a mission to provide basic shelter for an underserved segment of the populace considered a bulwark in the larger democratic endeavor.
The pedestrian nature of the model at the time, and its exotic status today, speaks to an inversion of exception and rule."
Then he dives back in, laying out loopholes and unintended consequences. Funny is seldom the word to describe he subject of housing, yet Tarleton manages to keep a light touch throughout the book (e.g, Mitchell-Lama as the "alpaca-evoking nickname" for the housing program created by two legislators). Come for the housing battles, stay for the smart, yummy prose.
July 10, 2025
Found this through the New Yorker.
If I had to assign a book to an alien to understand contemporary American malaise, the story of Southbridge, a former public housing deciding to go private, the story of which forms the heart of this book, would not be a bad start. Fascinating story - author did an excellent job humanizing a potentially dull story. The second story of a similar housing development deciding to stay public isn't nearly as dramatic but has a much better resolution.
If I had to assign a book to an alien to understand contemporary American malaise, the story of Southbridge, a former public housing deciding to go private, the story of which forms the heart of this book, would not be a bad start. Fascinating story - author did an excellent job humanizing a potentially dull story. The second story of a similar housing development deciding to stay public isn't nearly as dramatic but has a much better resolution.
March 24, 2025
This is a book about two New York City housing co-ops struggling over privatization. I was also struggling to read the book. The print was extremely small and made it difficult to read. I appreciate receiving this book and I have already passed it on.
May 29, 2025
Some interesting anecdotal stories and historical background, especially as a New Yorker. The overall concept of housing being commodified in the US is strong, though the editorializing was a little stronger for my taste.
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