DATE & TIME
November 13, 2012
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
LOCATION
Hunter College – UPP (1640 Hunter West)
DESCRIPTION
UMAH on a Tuesday! UAP Professor Matthew Lasner speaks about his new book, High Life: Condo Living in the Suburban Century, which explores the history of co-owned family multifamily housing in the United States, from New York City’s first co-op, in 1881, to contemporary condo and townhouse complexes coast to coast.
Today, one in five homeowners in American cities and suburbs lives in a multifamily home rather than a single-family dwelling. As the American dream evolves, precipitated by declining real estate prices and a renewed interest in city living, many predict that condos will become the predominant form of housing in the 21st century. In his book, Lasner explains the complicated social, economic, and political factors that have increased demand for this way of living, situating the trend within the larger housing market and broad shifts in residential architecture. He contrasts the prevalence and popularity of condos, townhouses, and other privately governed communities with their ambiguous economic, legal, and social standing, as well as their striking absence from urban and architectural history.
Urban Mondays at Hunter (UMAH) is a lecture series curated by Hunter Urban Affairs and Planning and co-sponsored by the student-led Graduate Urban Affairs and Planning Association (GUAPA).