For three decades, cultural anthropologist Sherri Lawson Clark has focused her research on the factors contributing to housing instability in America. According to Clark, individuals across various economic levels are facing challenges related to housing affordability.
Clark contributed to the 2020 national report “Displaced in America” and is working on a new measure for housing stability aimed at addressing issues of affordability and access throughout the United States.
In discussing whether America is currently experiencing a housing crisis, Clark stated: “Yes. As a cultural anthropologist, I am interested in the ways in which the housing crisis is experienced at the individual level. A homeless person is experiencing a housing crisis as is the middle-income homeowner whose housing costs have risen above their income.”
Clark compares today’s situation with the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis that preceded the Great Recession. She notes similarities, saying: “In similar ways, the 2007 subprime mortgage did not begin in 2007; it began in the mid-1990s – taking almost a decade before the financial crisis of 2008.” She highlights that many Americans are spending up to half of their monthly income on housing costs, exceeding recommended limits by federal guidelines.
According to Clark’s research and insights from organizations like the National Housing Conference, two main issues characterize America’s current housing predicament: escalating housing costs and persistently low rates of black homeownership.
Her ongoing study focuses on homeowners’ decision-making processes and examines accessibility within high-poverty areas such as East Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The findings are expected to contribute significantly to developing new measures for improving nationwide access and affordability.
Clark also addresses differences in how these challenges manifest across urban centers, suburbs, and rural areas but underscores that all face significant concerns regarding affordability.
To mitigate risks faced by vulnerable populations who are being displaced, she suggests innovative solutions such as limited equity cooperatives and easing zoning restrictions to allow diverse types of homes.
Lawson Clark has co-authored “Poverty Law and Advocacy in America: Teachers’ Manual with Field Exercise” and serves as a contributing editor for “Contemporary African American Families: Achievements, Challenges, and Empowerment Strategies in the Twenty-First Century.”
