Desmond is an academic but he's written a compelling, almost addictive book. He embedded himself in the lives of a variety of residents of Milwaukee, all of them straddling the line between homelessness and being precariously housed. Some are white residents of a trailer park, others are African American inner-city residents. He uncovers truths that are not especially astonishing: everyone suffers, but blacks suffer in greater numbers and more intensely, many landlords are predatory, families with children are at greatest risk of eviction, police and court practices work against the tenants, and most importantly, there are horribly high numbers of people whose incomes are such that they effectively have no chance of maintaining secure housing. Rents are simply too high, and these families are on track for eviction from the moment they move in.
This was often uncomfortable reading; I felt like I was watching reality TV and occasionally enjoying the drama more than I should. Desmond can only have presented a fraction of the individuals and situations he observed and sometimes I wondered at his choices. He follows Crystal, for example, whose violent behavior and serious mental illness push the narrative outside the bounds of his thesis; Crystal would likely be frequently homeless even if our country adopted Desmond's sensible recommendations for alleviating the crisis: widespread use of vouchers such that no family need spend more than 30% of its income on housing, controls on pricing and discrimination, and more thoughtful enforcement of building codes such that maintaining safe properties remains profitable.
Still, this is undeniably an impressive and important work. I was gratified to see Desmond use the word brutality to describe the treatment of poor tenants. It's entirely appropriate.
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