Reiew of 'Race Brokers

To many observers of neighborhoods and housing markets, racial segregation seems normal, natural, or inevitable. In fact, segregation is so central to contemporary cities (and our discussions of them) that these patterns often appear irreversibly sketched into the twenty-first century urban landscape. But in her new book, Race Brokers: Housing Markets and Segregation in 21st Century Urban America, sociologist Elizabeth Korver-Glenn forcefully argues that racial segregation is not an intractable feature of urban life. Instead, she shows that housing market professionals reproduce and reinforce racial segregation through racist ideas and racialized routines in their everyday work. Studying the housing market in Houston, Dr. Korver-Glenn introduces readers to four types of housing market professionals—builders, real estate agents, mortgage bankers, and appraisers. Quickly, this comprehensive approach to studying the housing market shows how racist ideas enter the housing market at multiple points in the process of building, buying, and selling homes....

Business · Estate · Race (biology) · Racism · Real estate · Residential real estate · Sociology · Work (physics) · Engineering · Finance · Gender Studies · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies