An update to the previous digest, below you’ll find all the book reviews from the most recent two IJHP issues of 2020.
- The book title links to the publisher’s online shop.
- The ‘full review’ links to our IJHP review article page.
- The review author links, where possible, to their university profile (so you can find out why they are so knowledgeable on their topics!)
Many thanks to our reviewers, and to our Oana Druta, our Book Review Editor.
If you are interested in reviewing books for us (including a review essay like Matthew, see below), or if you have a book you’d like reviewed in our pages, email Oana.
The rise in vacant housing in post-growth Japan: housing market, urban policy, and revitalizing aging cities
Edited by Tomoko Kubo and Yoshimichi Yui
IJHP review by Bruce Judd
“This is an important book, focusing on the growing problem of housing vacancies in the Japanese housing market, the factors influencing its growth, its socio-spatial characteristics and implications for urban policy and planning.” Read the full review…
The politics and practices of apartment living
By Hazel Easthope
IJHP review by Tahire Erman
“Despite [its] shortcomings, the book is very informative about the different aspects of the condominium in different contexts. It will be of interest to those who want to be informed about the condominium system: how it works, what the actors are, and what challenges arise in a time of escalating ‘condoification.’” Read the full review…
Class, ethnicity and state in the polarised metropolis: putting Wacquant to work
Edited by John Flint and Ryan Powell
IJHP review by Tony Manzi
“The value of the book lies not only in its ability to bring the work of this important theorist to wider prominence but (arguably a more crucial task) indicating how his writings can be used to highlight vital contemporary processes, to enrich (from a theoretical standpoint) a range of empirical studies and to confront urban injustices.” Read the full review…
Neoliberal housing policy: an international perspective
By Keith Jacobs
IJHP review by Valesca Lima
“While the author recognises that it is hard to feel optimistic in the current situation, Jacobs include examples of housing policies that are less commodified, cheaper and environmentally cleaner (examples from Argentina and the Netherlands are included), as he demonstrates that the future of housing involves both innovative housing construction models, such as architect-designed homes available as kits, and also common homeownership models.” Read the full review…
Contemporary co-housing in Europe: toward sustainable cities?
Edited by Pernilla Hagbert, Henrik Gutzon Larsen, Håkan Thörn and Catrina Wasshede
IJHP review by Daniël Bossuyt
“Even though the book originates out of an international research project, it is strongly cohesive and analytically focused. This can be attributed through a consistent analytical lens, based on the recurrent concepts of civil society and governance.” Read the full review…
The new enclosure: the appropriation of public land in neoliberal Britain
By Brett Christophers
IJHP review essay by Matthew Thompson
“Christophers then breaks down what, precisely, are the biggest impediments to housebuilding, circling in on the extraordinarily imperfect, opaque and neo-feudal UK land market, one dominated by “modern-day land barons” (p. 295) and rigged by information asymmetries to favour landowners and speculators – exacerbated by the notorious lack of tax, making all land value gains completely tax-free.” Read the full essay…
