Subprime Cities - (Ijurr Studies in Urban and Social Change Book) by Manuel B Aalbers (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Subprime Cities: The Political Economy of Mortgage Markets presents a collection of works from social scientists that offer insights into mortgage markets and the causes, effects, and aftermath of the recent 'subprime' mortgage crisis.

• Provides an even-handed and detailed analysis of mortgage markets and the recent housing crisis
• Features contributions from various social scientists with expertise in critical social theories who have assembled and analyzed detailed empirical information
• Offers a unique and powerful rebuttal to many of the misleading popular explanations of the crisis and its aftermath
• Reveals how racial minorities and the neighbourhoods inhabited by them are more likely to be targeted by subprime and predatory lenders

From the Back Cover

The study of mortgage markets has traditionally been the domain of economists. During historic times of turmoil and change, however, social scientists of various stripes are often called upon to shape our understanding of ways mortgage markets function. We are presently experiencing an episode of severe turmoil and change. How did we get here? Subprime Cities: The Political Economy of Mortgage Markets presents a collection of works from social scientists that offer important insights into what is happening in today's mortgage market including the causes, effects, and aftermath of the "subprime" mortgage crisis. In addition to shedding light on how the current housing crisis has spread to other sectors of the economy, readings address the mortgage market itself and how problems have spread throughout mortgage and housing markets. Various chapters address changes that have resulted in the subprime mortgage crisis; others focus on the structural changes in the mortgage market, rather than on the crisis itself. Documentation of the geographical, social, and institutional inequalities associated with the crisis reveals how the recent mortgage boom created "subprime cities," and how the victims of the crisis are the product of deep structural inequalities. This book is a provocative wake-up call for us to reconsider the structures of housing finance and housing policy if we are to avoid another crisis.

Review Quotes

"Aalbers has edited a commendable volume that makes a strong case for the centrality of urban processes in crisis formation. It has implications for a number of subfields in political science--including urban politics, economic and housing policy processes, race and ethnicity, politics and history, and federalism and intergovernmental relations--and should be read by scholars seeking to pinpoint the urban origins of the global financial crisis, as well as by those with an interest in learning more about the unavoidable and deepening connection between the fate of cities and the fate of nations." (Perspectives on Politics, 1 September 2013)

"So its reading will benefit not only economic geographers, but also sociologists, political scientists and, dare we say, economists." (Political Studies Review, 8 January 2014)

"Aalbers has edited a commendable volume that makes a strong case for the centrality of urban processes in crisis formation. It has implications for a number of subfields in political science--including urban politics, economic and housing policy processes, race and ethnicity, politics and history, and federalism and intergovernmental relations--and should be read by scholars seeking to pinpoint the urban origins of the global financial crisis, as well as by those with an interest in learning more about the unavoidable and deepening connection between the fate of cities and the fate of nations."(Perspectives on Politics, September 2013)

"The book will be extremely useful for advanced courses in economic geography, housing policy and related topics. It should be widely cited in the ongoing debates over the subprime crisis as well as in discussions of mortgage and housing markets more generally." (International Journal of Housing Policy, 20 June 2013)

"Overall, the book is a must-have for not only those interested in the economics, geography, and politics of the subprime crisis or mortgage markets, but also those more broadly interested in economic geography more broadly, especially as it concerns finance. The book will be extremely useful for advanced courses in economic geography, housing policy, and related topics. It should be widely cited in the ongoing debate over the subprime crisis as well as in discussions of mortgage and housing markets more generally." (International Journal of Housing Policy, 2012)

About the Author

Manuel B. Aalbers is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He is the author of Place, Exclusion and Mortgage Markets (2011) and associate editor of the Encyclopedia of Urban Studies (2010).