Roses from Concrete: Tenant Associations Battle Against Housing Conditions and Policies in Newark, NJ

Abstract

This Thesis investigates how urban grassroots movements attempt to implement change from a bottom-up approach. How have tenant associations mobilized constituencies to fight against inadequate housing policies and practices in Newark? I hypothesize that given the turbulent history of the city, financial motivations of landlords, lack of political willpower, and limited resources inhibits the ability of tenants to achieve substantial improvements in their circumstances. An ethnographic study of over four months and interviews with five different tenant leaders from four privately-owned apartment complexes, twenty-seven renters, and three public officials revealed that despite the possibility of tenant disillusionment, tenants have been successful in organizing themselves to lobby for the improvement of living conditions within their own buildings. At the city level, the different experiences and opinions of tenant organizers limit their ability to work together. Nevertheless, tenants unite for rent control and were successful in passing an improved rent control ordinance.