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Columbia Studies in the History of U.S. Capitalism
How the Suburbs Were Segregated: Developers and the Business of Exclusionary Housing, 1890-1960
The story of the rise of the segregated suburb often begins during the New Deal and the Second World War, when sweeping federal policies hollowed out cities, pushed rapid suburbanization, and created a white homeowner class intent on defending racial barriers. Paige Glotzer offers a new understanding of the deeper roots of suburban segregation. The mid-twentieth-century policies that favored exclusionary housing were not simply the inevitable result of popular and elite prejudice, she reveals, but the culmination of a long-term effort by developers to use racism to structure suburban real estate markets.
Glotzer charts how the real estate industry shaped residential segregation, from the emergence of large-scale suburban development in the 1890s to the postwar housing boom. Focusing on the Roland Park Company as it developed Baltimore's wealthiest, whitest neighborhoods, she follows the money that financed early segregated suburbs, including the role of transnational capital, mostly British, in the U.S. housing market. She also scrutinizes the business practices of real estate developers, from vetting homebuyers to negotiating with municipal governments for services. She examines how they sold the idea of the suburbs to consumers and analyzes their influence in shaping local and federal housing policies. Glotzer then details how Baltimore's experience informed the creation of a national real estate industry with professional organizations that lobbied for planned segregated suburbs. How the Suburbs Were Segregated sheds new light on the power of real estate developers in shaping the origins and mechanisms of a housing market in which racial exclusion and profit are still inextricably intertwined.
Glotzer charts how the real estate industry shaped residential segregation, from the emergence of large-scale suburban development in the 1890s to the postwar housing boom. Focusing on the Roland Park Company as it developed Baltimore's wealthiest, whitest neighborhoods, she follows the money that financed early segregated suburbs, including the role of transnational capital, mostly British, in the U.S. housing market. She also scrutinizes the business practices of real estate developers, from vetting homebuyers to negotiating with municipal governments for services. She examines how they sold the idea of the suburbs to consumers and analyzes their influence in shaping local and federal housing policies. Glotzer then details how Baltimore's experience informed the creation of a national real estate industry with professional organizations that lobbied for planned segregated suburbs. How the Suburbs Were Segregated sheds new light on the power of real estate developers in shaping the origins and mechanisms of a housing market in which racial exclusion and profit are still inextricably intertwined.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published April 28, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 10, 2021
Extremely relevant as we move into a deed-restricted HOA community. I wanted to avoid this, but unfortunately the reality of Florida real estate is that that dream is virtually impossible now. I personally question the legality of mandatory HOA membership for many of the reasons presented in this book, as these restrictive covenants, while no longer containing outright bans based on race and religion, do actively discourage all but the most desired demographic from moving in.
Unsaid in this title is that this is basically a case study of Baltimore. This helps the text immensely as it provides a coherent core narrative to follow which is surprisingly engaging.
Unsaid in this title is that this is basically a case study of Baltimore. This helps the text immensely as it provides a coherent core narrative to follow which is surprisingly engaging.
February 2, 2023
super interesting but writing was at times mired by confusing acronyms that were only defined once... honestly so valuable for my fellow baltimoreans to read, really opens up a convo
October 3, 2021
Great focus, interesting story
The book is interesting because it adopts a "from bottom up" strategy that allows the author to deploy two tactics: 1) follow the money for the racially segregated suburbs in Baltimore, which ties her case study to global and colonial trends; and 2) she focuses on the developers decisions, which allow her to find traces of racism in the way Roland Park is created as a walled community, with restrictions that limit the potential buyers based on race, class and other considerations. It is a novel way to see the issue of racism in America and in the American housing market. However, I felt that the author made some generalizations out of a single case, which create the question if this racial capitalism is the only relevant focus on the US housing market and a general trend in suburban development or not. Also the narrative is a little dry but I think that gas to do with the type of sources the author uses.
The book is interesting because it adopts a "from bottom up" strategy that allows the author to deploy two tactics: 1) follow the money for the racially segregated suburbs in Baltimore, which ties her case study to global and colonial trends; and 2) she focuses on the developers decisions, which allow her to find traces of racism in the way Roland Park is created as a walled community, with restrictions that limit the potential buyers based on race, class and other considerations. It is a novel way to see the issue of racism in America and in the American housing market. However, I felt that the author made some generalizations out of a single case, which create the question if this racial capitalism is the only relevant focus on the US housing market and a general trend in suburban development or not. Also the narrative is a little dry but I think that gas to do with the type of sources the author uses.
February 22, 2023
insanely eye-opening & detailed account of the racist systems that shaped a segregated housing market system- but a very dense read
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews