Public Housing and School Choice in a Gentrified City

Molly Vollman Makris is Post-doctoral Research Associate at Rutgers University-Newark, USA.

"Without identifying heroes or villains, Makris' case study of school choice, public housing, and gentrification in Hoboken illuminates a powerful truth: housing policy and school policy are intimately linked. It also exposes two fictions: that neoliberal educational reforms will improve the quality of education for the most vulnerable youth, and that race and class have no relationship to parents' perceptions of school choice options and subsequent decisions about schooling. Hoboken's experience reminds us of the opportunities and dangers of relying on market-inspired reforms for creating diverse neighborhoods and equitable schools even when communities desire them." - Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, Professor of Sociology, Public Policy, and Women and Gender Studies, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA "Besides providing a detailed analysis of contacts between haves and have-nots, Makris clarifies why schools are such an important part of the process. The book has important implications for race, urban planning, education, and the role of young people in shaping both the texture and substance of the environment in which they live." William Helmreich, Professor of Sociology, The City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center, USA

• 1. A City Divided? 2. From the "Armpit of Hudson County" to the "Gold Coast": Hoboken, NJ 3. Uneven Opportunities: Luis and Olivia 4. School Choice and Segregation in a Mile Squared 5. "The Golden Ticket": Gentrification, Charter Schools, and a Parallel School System 6. "The Best Place to Get a Mocha": Issues of Access for Youth in Public Housing in a Gentrified Community 7. Separate, Different, But Not Isolated: How Youth in Public Housing Relate to Their Gentrified Community 8. Prolonged Gentrification: Universal Preschool, School Choice, and Real Estate Development 9. "I Love Diversity": Implications and Promise