New Book Examines Public Housing as a Locus of Political Power

A new book by Akira Drake Rodriguez, titled Divergent Space for Deviants: The Politics of Atlanta's Public Housing, examines the city of Atlanta's 20-year campaign to tear down its public housing projects as part of its plans to host the 1996 Sumer Olympics.

An article featuring an interview between Stephanie Stokes and the book's author offers more insights into the history of public housing in Atlanta, and about the book's hypothesis that "Atlanta’s low-income Black residents found a unique kind of political power in public housing." Thus, the demolitions took more than just physical shelter from public housing residents.