2022/10/07 by Kenton Card · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Political and Economic history of UK and US #Urbanization and City Planning
paper · doi:10.1080/02673037.2022.2124236
openalex publication_date 2022/10/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
How can tenants affect housing policy? This paper compares rental housing politics in Los Angeles (USA) and Berlin (Germany) between 2008-2020 by examining how political processes influenced policy. It serves as a case of the emergence, escalation, and impact of tenant power. Tenant movement organizations employed five mechanisms to affect policymaking: (1) making demands, (2) forming coalitions, (3) promoting referendums, (4) engaging government officials in dialogue, and (5) transferring agents to government. The paper draws on multiple data sources, including interviews and participant observation over ten years. The cities witnessed policy episodes with four parallel characteristics: (1) locally progressive and regionally moderate, (2) shifting from defensive to offensive, (3) shifting from particular to universal, and (4) signs of a breakthrough beyond neoliberal housing policymaking. The findings suggest that the rise of tenant movements and their allies help drive policy change via multiple channels, exhibiting both similarities and differences across cities, especially in terms of money power and people power.