Climbing Mount Laurel

Sociologist Massey and his coauthors tell a remarkable story about the Ethel Lawrence Homes (ELH) project, an affordable housing project for low- and moderate-income minority residents in an affluent white suburb in Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey. . . . They argue that the development of affordable housing projects for low-income minorities in affluent suburbs is an effective means to reduce race and class segregation, increase social mobility, reduce dependency, create better human capital, and achieve family well-being. A significant contribution to urban community studies and the literature on social policy related to housing in the metropolitan U.S. * Choice * Ably linking social science, legal analysis, and policy discussion together, Climbing Mount Laurel is a much-needed book. -John Goering, City University of New York, Graduate Center Exploring the impact of an affordable housing development in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, this book provides new and innovative methodologies for examining key theoretical and public policy issues that have been the subject of intensive debate. It will be useful to scholars, public officials, and others interested in the way American communities develop in the face of increasing diversity and inequalities. -Gregory Squires, George Washington University Impeccable. . . . Climbing Mount Laurel exemplifies social science at its finest--conclusively demonstrating through precise, thorough, thoughtful, and thought-provoking analysis how, for tens of millions of Americans, the path to the American Dream begins and ends at home. ---Mark Rubinfeld, Journal of American Culture Climbing Mount Laurel is a welcome addition to the literature on housing mobility programs and neighborhood effects. Its methodological rigor and ability to avoid the pitfalls of spatial determinism are some of its key strengths, and the book should be of interest to scholars and practitioners of affordable housing, planning law, and program evaluation. ---Aretousa Bloom, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare Massey and his coauthors provide a concise, effective overview of exclusionary practices and their effects on residential segregation. ---John R. Logan, American Journal of Sociology Climbing Mount Laurel should be on every planner's bookshelf for two key reasons. First, the book will likely serve as a fine, detailed study of a successful affordable housing project. Second, Climbing Mount Laurel can serve as a source of inspiration that economic and racial integration is possible in suburbia, but only when planners and developers pay attention to the big and little details. ---Stuart Meck, Journal of American Planning Association Upscale Mount Laurel loomed large in the New Jersey State Supreme Court's key fair housing decisions in 1975 and 1983. But the housing itself wasn't built until all of 2001. For years, locals protested hard that home values would fall and crime rates would rise. Douglas S. Massey and four other authors . . . meticulously document how this wasn't the case at all. ---Katharine Whittemore, Boston Globe Co-winners of the 2014 Robert E. Park Award, Community and Urban Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association Winner of the 2013 Paul Davidoff Award, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning