DC Accepted Papers Paper:
Unconquerable? Homeownership and Local Political Power
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Since the New Deal era, a central goal of American planning has been to promote homeownership as a means of giving citizens a stake in society. While homeownership’s long-term material benefits are well-documented, its civic virtues are more difficult to prove, though evidence of the disproportionate influence homeowners wield in local politics is growing. Using American National Election Study data and state-level administrative data, this paper investigates the relationship between homeownership and different forms of local civic participation, including voter turnout in local elections, political contributions to local political candidates, and local volunteerism. The paper also draws on novel qualitative interviews with local community organizers in Washington, DC to explore how community land trusts and shared equity models of ownership may be associated with local civic engagement.
