Evictions: The Comparative Analysis Problem

Since 2003, when Hartman and Robinson identified eviction as “the hidden housing problem,” a growing body of research has provided detailed, empirical analyses the process in specific locations. However, there been little effort to systematically compare legal regimes institutional contexts governing proceedings. Drawing on our four cities—Baltimore, Maryland; Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Washington, DC—we consider how landlord–tenant courts shape for tenants landlords. Specifically, we draw fieldwork administrative records from these cities identify procedural differ by place, ways that processes both eviction’s life its underlying social meanings. Although problem is no longer literature, explosion introduced comparative analysis problem.