The Urban Housing Problem: Marxist Theory and Community Organizing

Abstract

Rental housing is both a market commodity and an investment of capital. Under conditions of income inequality, extensive poverty, and residen tial segregation based on income, housing deterioration is a natural and even pro fitable consequence of the rental housing market. Changes in the relative posi tion of housing within the market cause buildings to lose exchange value though their use value remains the same. An owner then has a strong incentive to recap ture the investment, the exchange value, through allowing the building to deteri orate, thus diminishing or destroying the use value.