We live here : tenants and the Massachusetts Public Housing Reform debate

The embezzlement and corruption scandal surrounding the director of a local Massachusetts housing authority in late 2011 spurred a heated public debate about governance and efficiency in the state-funded public housing system. Governor Patrick, state agency heads, public and affordable housing professionals and experts and tenant advocates debated the degree to which the system should be centralized. Eventually, this debate was framed within the parameters of two opposing bills submitted to the state legislature. The Legislature's Committee on Housing took up the issue in June 2013 and will submit a third bill, widely considered to be the decisive measure, towards the end of the 2014 session. Tenant interests were largely absent in this debate. While existing regulations require housing authorities to encourage and fund local tenant organizations, many tenant representatives face retaliation from administrators. In this documentary film thesis, tenants whose organizing efforts have been suppressed discuss how they support one another, overcome stigma and advocate for the interests of their neighbors.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Sappelt, Ruth

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• J. Phillip Thompson.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90099

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/90099