Housing experts have been reading and passing around "Evicted," by Matthew Desmond, since its release last year. Now the book has won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.
"Matthew Desmond’s Evicted, which won the Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction on Monday, is a deeply humanizing and empathetic book about poverty," writes Henry Grabar.
Grabar's post follows the big acknowledgement for the book by noting its influence on housing experts, which has been, as Desmond proclaims, enormous.
It’s not that Desmond pioneered the idea that, as the Pulitzer foundation puts it, evictions “were less a consequence than a cause of poverty.” But he does give it pathos. And that makes a difference. According to Desmond, after Sen. Elizabeth Warren read the chapter in Evicted about how nuisance ordinances were causing women to get evicted for reporting abuse, she drafted a letter to then–Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro suggesting the department issue guidance to local communities on whether their laws might violate the Fair Housing Act.
Desmond provided an interview for Slate when the book was released in March 2016, and also penned an opinion piece for the New York Times about federal policy related to housing and poverty. Planetizen also included the book in its top books of the year.
FULL STORY: Matthew Desmond’s Evicted Just Won the Pulitzer for Nonfiction. It’s All Housing Advocates Can Talk About.
Op-Ed: The Shortcomings of Matthew Desmond's 'Evicted'
Matthew Desmond's ethnographic study has received critical praise. But David Adler asks whether the book's approach tacitly lets affluent non-landlords off the hook.
Fixing the Harms of the Eviction System
Emily Benfer talks about what needs to change in our housing and eviction systems—not just now, but once the pandemic is past, the connections between health and housing, and how she came to be a go-to voice on the eviction crisis.
Eviction is Not the Answer
The Eviction Lab at Princeton University is using data to tell the story of thousands of tenant evictions. Matthew Desmond, the Lab's director, shares stories of tenants and insights about the compounding danger of mass evictions and COVID-19.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.
Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?
Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont