Stacked Decks: Building Inspectors and the Reproduction of Urban Inequality

A startling look at the power and perspectives of city building inspectors as they navigate unequal housing landscapes.

Though we rarely see them at work, building inspectors have the power to significantly shape our lives through their discretionary decisions. The building inspectors of Chicago are at the heart of sociologist Robin Bartram's analysis of how individuals impact--or attempt to impact--housing inequality. In Stacked Decks, she reveals surprising patterns in the judgment calls inspectors make when deciding whom to cite for building code violations. These predominantly white, male inspectors largely recognize that they work within an unequal housing landscape that systematically disadvantages poor people and people of color through redlining, property taxes, and city spending that favor wealthy neighborhoods. Stacked Decks illustrates the uphill battle inspectors face when trying to change a housing system that works against those with the fewest resources.


Author: Robin Bartram
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 08/19/2022
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9780226821146
ISBN10: 0226821145
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Sociology | Urban
- Law | Housing & Urban Development
- History | United States | State & Local | Midwest(IA,IL,IN,KS,MI,MN,MO

About the Author
Robin Bartram is assistant professor of sociology at Tulane University.