IN-PERSON: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

Abraham E Kazan left an indelible mark on NYC housing. “Kazan”, as he was usually known, was the driving force behind thousands of co-operative homes in the city, sponsored by the trade union movement, many of which survive as an antidote to the city’s toxic housing market. Kazan’s work began in the socio-political volatility of the 1930s and continued in the post-war era of economic growth and large-scale urban interventions by NYC’s public authorities. Much has changed. But the ideology of housing as part of a wider nexus of co-operation has enduring relevance for livable cities. This paper will explore Kazan’s life, times and legacy. His vision for well-designed homes, at prices working class people could afford, was given form by his relationship with NYC’s trade unions and politicians. Through determination, pragmatism and skilful power-broking, he helped mount a serious challenge to rapacious slum-landordism. Places like the Amalgamated Housing Co-Operative in the Bronx stand as testament to the success of the philosophy he personified. Almost a century since his first projects began to take shape, NYC housing is in a state Kazan would recognise: extreme unaffordability and insecurity resulting from the domination of private real estate, often symbolised by socially, economically and environmentally unsustainable design, issues profoundly highlighted by COVID. Drawing on new research, this paper will discuss the potential for a revival of worker-controlled, sensitively designed, co-operative housing to build healthier, more equal and more livable cities.