Human Rights Vernacularization in U.S. Housing Rights Movements: An analysis of domestic incorporation of human rights language to counter a culture of commodity and call for change

Abstract

The United States is facing a housing crisis. Harvard University’s annual State of the Nation’s Housing report, sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, explores the conditions of the housing market and provides insights. The 2022 edition demonstrates the extent of the crisis, and the human impact of the situation: More than 1 in 7 households pay over half of their income on housing; The United States has a deficit of 3.8 million homes; Rents grew by a record 11.6 percent at the end of 2021 and into the beginning of 2022; Evictions increased by 2.5 percent, after pandemic government protections were terminated; Climate change threatens residential properties–storms and other natural disasters damaged around 14.5 million properties in 2021, at a cost of $56.92 billion; There is a growth in older adult households as the baby boom generation ages–the number of householders age 65 and older is expected to rise by 1.1 million every year until 2028. The growth in older households will create a need for better access to affordable and equitable housing; While the Black home ownership rate rose slightly to 45.3% by 2022, there is a homeownership gap between Black and White households of 28.7 percentage points.