Rhetoric and Reality

This chapter outlines the study's design and research methodology, describing the specific data sources consulted to determine the effects of the project on the community and the multiple surveys and in-depth interviews conducted to gather information on how the opening of the homes affected residents, neighbors, and the community in general. In the earlier review of the political economy of place, the chapter presents a theoretical rationale for anticipating high levels of emotion in debates about land use, and in the specific case of the Ethel Lawrence Homes the residents of Mount Laurel certainly did not disappoint. Whether it was the majority who expressed strong misgivings about locating an affordable housing project within the township, or the minority who offered sympathy and support for the venture, emotions generally ran high. Feelings seemed to be especially raw among those who opposed the project, judging by the invective hurled at public hearings. The record of subsidized housing in the United States is hardly unblemished.