Table of Contents
0 Introduction 5
1 The Relevance of Cultural Studies in Translation 7
2 Research Methods 9
3 Defining Home 11
3.1 The Importance of Neighborhood 12
4 Housing Policy in the United States 14
4.1 Department of Housing and Urban Development 14
4.1.1 The Office of Community Planning and Development 14
4.1.2 The Office of Housing 15
4.1.3 The Office of Public and Indian Housing 15
4.1.4 The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity 16
4.1.5 The Office of Policy Development and Research 16
4.1.6 The Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control 17
4.2 Government Sponsored Enterprises 17
4.2.1 Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) 18
4.2.2 Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) 18
4.2.3 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) 19
5 The American Dream of Homeownership 20
5.1 Homeownership Today 21
5.1.1 The Homeownership Gap 22
5.2 America: A Suburban Nation 22
5.3 Typical American Neighborhoods 23
5.4 The McMansion 25
5.4.1 Criticism of McMansions 26
5.4.2 The Size of Suburban Homes 28
5.5 Common-Interest Housing Developments 29
5.5.1 Gated Communities 30
5.5.1.1 Lifestyle Communities 31
5.5.1.2 Prestige Communities 32
5.5.1.3 Security Zone Communities 33
5.5.1.4 Motives for Gated Communities 34
5.6 The Purchase of a Home 35
5.6.1 Mortgage Lending 36
5.6.2 The Buying Process 37
5.7 Reasons for the Increase in Homeownership 38
6 Suburban America 40
6.1 The Beginnings 40
6.1.1 The Phenomenon of Domesticity 42
6.2 The Emergence of Suburbs 44
6.3 The Invention of the Automobile 47
6.4 World War I and the 1920s 49
6.5 The New Deal Era 51
6.6 World War II and its Aftermath 52
6.6.1 Levittown: Mass-Production of the American Dream 53
6.7 Suburban Boom of the 1960s and 1970s 56
6.8 The 1980s and the Rise of Edge City 57
6.9 Today’s Suburbs 58
6.9.1 Urban Sprawl 61
6.9.2 Environmental Concerns 62
6.9.3 Different Approaches to Fighting Sprawl 63
6.9.4 Smart Growth 64
6.9.4.1 Government Involvement in Smart Growth 65
6.9.4.2 Zoning Laws 66
6.9.4.3 The “Not-In-My-Backyard” Phenomenon 68
6.9.5 National Trust for Historic Preservation 68
6.9.6 Congress for the New Urbanism 69
6.9.6.1 Traditional Neighborhood Approach (TND) of New Urbanism 71
6.9.6.2 New Urbanist Developments 72
6.9.3 Limitations of the Traditional Neighborhood Approach 74
7 Urban America 76
7.1 Public Housing 76
7.1.1 The Origins of Slums and Ghettos 76
7.1.2 The Beginnings of Public Housing Policy 797.1.3 Housing Policy 1950-1990 80
7.1.4 The 1990s 83
7.1.5 The Current Situation 84
7.2 Affordability Crisis 87
7.3 The Role of Non-Profit Housing 89
7.4 America’s Inner Cities 92
7.4.1 The Flight to the Suburbs 92
7.4.2 Reasons for Inner City Poverty 93
7.4.3 Downtown Revival 94
8 Rental Housing 96
8.1 General Overview 96
8.1.1 The Rental Stock 97
8.1.2 Income Differences 98
8.1.3 Age Structure of Renters 99
8.1.4 Ethnic Composition of Renters 100
8.1.5 Most and Least Expensive Locations 101
8.2 Benefits of Renting 101
8.3 Archstone-Smith as an Example of a Real Estate Company 103
8.3.1 Company Overview 103
8.3.2 The Renting Process 105
9 Conclusion 106
10 Glossary 108
11 Explanatory Notes 126
12 Bibliography 131
12.1 Books 131
12.2 Dictionaries and Encyclopedias 134
12.3 Internet Sources 135
12.3.1 Reports 135
12.3.2 Websites 139
12.4 List of Figures
cultural studies in the heartland of