Abstract

Red lines, white zones

This article presents information on two books, namely: "Our Town: Race, Housing, and the Soul of Suburban," by David L. Kirp, John P. Dwyer and Larry A. Rosenthal and "Suburbs Under Siege: Race, Space, and Audacious Judges," by Charles M. Haar. Focused on the important series of New Jersey Supreme Court housing decisions labeled the Mount Laurel cases, Our Town, by David L. Kirp, John P. Dwyer and Larry A. Rosenthal, and Suburbs Under Siege, by Charles M. Haar, should promote a more honest dialogue about how formal and informal mechanisms of zoning discrimination limit residential options for many poor and minority Americans. Kirp, Dwyer and Rosenthal explain how Mount Laurel litigation emerged from "the New Jersey social landscape, in the intractable race and social class conflict magnified by the ever growing economic and political importance of the suburbs."