Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

by Matthew Desmond

“This is my property,” the landlords answered. “This is myyy property!” Karen boomed, her finger pointing to the land below. The voices in the room went up in unison, a proud and powerful chorus: “This is my property! Myyyyy property!”

I still have my certificate from landlord training. In recent years, there have been many reforms to eviction court. Several cities have established a “right to counsel,” providing all families facing eviction with an attorney, while others have developed successful eviction diversion programs, like the one in Philadelphia that requires landlords to try diversion before filing for eviction.