A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next

Abstract

tax liens on unpaid water bills screened out tenants expected to cause problems or surveilled and harassed tenants. Many believed—despite a lack of experience— that the steady income provided by tenants with housing choice vouchers would be outweighed by the expense of maintaining properties to pass exacting housing authority inspections and the onerous process of evicting tenants. Other landlords operated successfully using economies of scale to professionalize their operations. Findings are most applicable to declining regions or with local policies like the water liens described. How these findings may apply to faster growing cities with strong rental markets, where few policies exist to protect renters, is less clear. Nonetheless, it is sure to be of great interest to students, scholars, and practitioners concerned with ensuring access to stable, decent housing for low-income renters through the private rental market.