Tierra Y Libertad

Abstract

Tierra y Libertad: Land, Liberty, and Latino Housing surveys the terrain, culture, and history of Latino/as and housing. Employing a vital historical perspective, it traces its core theme of how Latino/as once held expansive ranchland in the Southwest but are now primarily a landless population spread throughout the U.S. that clings to marginal property rights and precarious ownership through overcrowded urban rental units, transitory rural living arrangements, and, at best, home acquisitions financed by high-risk subprime mortgages. Land ownership and homeownership enable assimilation into the American dream and foster community contributions and participation. But the landscape of the Latino/a experience is marked by a long history of property loss and discriminatory exclusion, fostering the current dilemma in which critics rail at Latino/as for their transitory nature and supposed lack of allegiance and contribution to their local communities, yet structural, legal, and historical impediments keep Latino/as from the threshold of opportunity. Evolving as legal, business, and societal norms changed, an array of discrimination techniques accomplished the exclusion of Latino/as from the American dream. To establish sustained access to affordable housing for Latino/as will demand reform and commitment across many sectors to encompass law, land use zoning, mortgage lending, educational structures, and community initiatives. Above all, comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship is needed to stabilize Latino/a communities and help restore sustainable growth in national housing markets.

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