Pragmatic Knowledge Production: Bringing the Problem of Housing Deterioration into Focus

Abstract

“Knowledge infrastructures” are critical to producing research and spurring action on policy issues. We argue that the existing infrastructure of knowledge on housing problems in the United States is ill-suited for understanding issues of housing quality and deterioration. Specifically, we argue that the principal national database for understanding housing quality, the American Housing Survey, is seriously flawed. After identifying specific blind spots, we develop an alternative approach—one that is community-driven and pragmatic—for better apprehending this problem. Our results highlight findings otherwise not producible through existing national data sources. Drawing from a city-wide survey of older homeowners in St. Louis, we highlight the city’s most pressing repair needs, how they are spatially and demographically distributed, and the aggregate cost of fixing them, which exceeds $300 million. We also utilize data from an evaluation survey of households that received home repairs and follow-up in-depth interviews to reveal the many costs of housing deterioration that transcend the costs of repairing the physical structure. Ultimately, this article points to the need to support and amplify local knowledge-making capacities, which we believe can help to bring needed public attention and action to the serious problem of housing deterioration.