Nathanael Lauster - Death & Life of the Single Family House

BC Humanists Podcast

Nathanael Lauster is an Associate Professor of Sociology at UBC and author of the award-winning book, The Death and Life of the Single Family House: Lessons from Vancouver on Building a Livable City (Temple University Press). His book and work investigate the regulatory power attached to the house and its impact on the shape and inhabitability of North American cities. He examines the transformation of Vancouver as a key city and talk to residents about their experiences with housing. Since the 1960s, Vancouver has curbed sprawl and opened up more alternatives to the single family house than any other metropolis on the continent. During the same time it's become heralded as one of the world’s "most livable cities,” providing lessons for how other transformations might proceed. Interviews with residents provide insight into the cultural importance of the house and detail the urban problems it seems to solve, but also underscore its catastrophic impact. Too many houses create barriers to making the city a better and more sustainable home for all. Fortunately the evidence suggests the real viability of change. The book builds on historical (archival & census) and interview data, collected and analyzed with help from my recent SSHRC grant.