Climbing Mount Laurel
Penulis
: Douglas S. Massey and Len Albright, Rebecca Casciano, Elizabeth Derickson, David
N. Kinsey
Subyek
: Sociology, Political Science
Law
Penerbit
: Princeton University Press
Ringkasan :In a very real way, this book culminates and affirms the vision of Ethel R.
Lawrence, who was a founding member of the 1960s-era Springville
Community Action Committee of South Jersey and lead plaintiff in the
case of South Burlington County NAACP et al. v. Mount Laurel Township
et al. This case produced the landmark State Supreme Court decision
establishing the “Mount Laurel Doctrine” within the State of New Jersey.
Not only did the decision clearly articulate an “affirmative obligation”
on the part of each municipality to accommodate its “fair share” of the
regional need for affordable housing, it also provided a model for affordable
housing litigation and development elsewhere, and offered an inspiration
to fair housing advocates throughout the country. Throughout
her life, Ethel Lawrence steadfastly defended the right of people to live in
whatever community they wished irrespective of color or economic status,
and she staunchly believed in the virtues of promoting greater racial
and class integration for the benefit of all citizens, not just the poor and
the disenfranchised.
This book vindicates the vision of Ethel Lawrence and we are honored
to dedicate it to her memory. Although she began working to bring
affordable housing to Mount Laurel Township in 1967, and her right to
do so was affirmed by the State Supreme Court in 1975 and 1983, the affordable
housing development that now bears her name did not open its
doors until November 2000, six years after she died. Moreover, until now
it has been difficult to assess what effect the opening of the Ethel R. Lawrence
Homes had on tenants, neighbors, and township residents, either to
vindicate or challenge her original vision of integration and inclusion. In
this book we describe the organization, implementation, and results of a
special data collection effort implemented in 2009–2010
to achieve these
goals. The “Monitoring Mount Laurel Study” was funded by a generous
grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Grant
No.08-92834-000-HCD) whose purpose was to assess how the opening
of the Ethel Lawrence Homes affected the surrounding community and
the lives of project residents.
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