July 15, 1999 | Read Time: 1 minute
More Than Bricks & Mortar: Housing That Builds Community, by Michael Schubert, argues that owning a home strengthens civic involvement as well as self-respect. Mr. Schubert, president of Community Development Strategies, in Chicago, chronicles the effects of a three-year, $400,000 grant awarded in 1993 by the Pew Partnership to three local organizations in the hopes of helping low-income residents of Santa Fe, N.M., buy and maintain homes. Mr. Schubert details how businesses and banks collaborated with non-profit housing organizations to offer low mortgage rates, and he also interviews residents who say they became more involved in their neighborhood’s activities after buying homes — by registering to vote, for example, or by crusading for a corner stop sign. Publisher: Pew Partnership, 145-C Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, Va. 22903; (804) 971-2073; fax (804) 971-7042; mail@pew-partnership.org; http://www.pew-partnership.org; 32 pages; free.
