No Place Like Home: Wealth, Community and the Politics of Homeownership (Book Talk)

Homeownership has long been the centerpiece of the American Dream. Since the early-twentieth century, proponents have promoted it as a tool for strengthening communities and building better citizens. But in No Place Like Home: Wealth, Community and the Politics of Homeownership (Oxford University Press, 2016), Georgetown sociologist Brian J. McCabe investigates these long-standing claims about the civic benefits of homeownership. Rather than emerging as civic-minded stewards of neighborhood life, McCabe shows that homeowners typically engage in their communities as self-interested actors concerned to protect the value of their homes. Their exclusionary engagement often leads to communities that are more segregated and exclusive than they would otherwise be. Through a critical analysis of homeowners’ civic habits, No Place Like Home rethinks the place of homeownership in American society and challenges existing housing policies that reward citizens for buying a home.