Stacked Decks: Building Inspectors and the Reproduction of Urban Inequality

This is a fascinating read! As Bartram’s book shows us, housing is about so much more than a place to live. It’s about wealth, status, capitalism, finance, race, inequality, precarity, and social mobility (or lack thereof). But as this ethnographic masterpiece illustrates, it’s also about the assumptions we make about these things, often without first-hand knowledge. Bartram shows us this through the eyes of city building inspectors, who wield enormous power of discretion to be tough or lenient in their enforcement of building code. They believe they have the power to mitigate structural inequality, but Bartram shows how and why, unfortunately, they are mistaken. Their own life experiences tend to color their interpretations of the circumstances of strangers, and they act accordingly, always well-intentioned but always effecting only superficial change. Through this book, we learn about what it means for the deck to be “stacked,” but also about the subjective and relational significance of this metaphorical concept. While the book represents social science at its best, it is written in a highly accessible way. The reader feels like they are right there with Bartram, seeing the world through these building inspectors’ eyes— the mark of an excellent ethnography. It will be fascinating, relatable, and deeply informative to anyone who has lived in a city and/or is curious about the social significance of housing, law, power and discretion.

Last week, a building collapsed on the west side of Chicago. The article questioned whether the building could be salvaged, and said that building inspectors were on the scene. A day later, the Tribune reported that "Building Inspectors" had stabilized the structure. Who are these mysterious building inspectors who arrive after disasters, and stabilize buildings (hint: they don't--they certify stability, they don't create it)?Bartram provides a fascinating window into who building inspectors are in Chicago, what they do, and how their work impacts neighborhoods. The role of building inspectors is far more important than most people realize, and they exercise far more subjective judgment than most people would expect. Over the last 43 years, I have spent a lot of time in building court (almost always representing tenants who faced displacement as a result of the actions (or inactions) of inspectors. So I eagerly anticipated reading this behind the scenes book. I was not disappointed--although (as discussed below), I do have questions.Bartram begins the book by discussing the various structural advantages and disadvantages experienced both by individuals and entire neighborhoods in Chicago. These largely track racial and economic data. Bartram terms these "stacked decks"--as in "the deck is stacked against you," but also allegorically referring to back decks which are so popular in traditional Chicago six-flats.The other background information which Bartram hints at, but doesn't discuss in any detail, is the fact that the Chicago Building Code is one of the most strict codes in the country. Virtually every building in the entire city has multiple code violations. These can range from violations which appear to be purely cosmetic issues (e.g., cracks in paint) to serious structural issues (e.g., rear decks which are in danger of collapse).These two background frames provide the analytical structure against which Bartram focuses his descriptions of what building inspectors do on a day to day basis. Bartram's thesis is that building inspectors do what they can (within the limits of their knowledge, their jobs, and external impediments) to redress some of these structural inequities. Inspectors tend not to write up every violation in buildings where the stacked deck disfavors the owner, but will write far more violations in buildings where the stacked deck gives the owner unearned advantages.Much of the book is devoted to describing examples at this sort of discretion exercised by inspectors. The final section of the book is devoted to discussing the ways that the inspectors' attempts to counter stacked decks often are futile, and sometimes backfire. This section is, I thought, the most interesting part of the book.I found this book very readable, fascinating, and entirely believable given the work I have done over the last 40+ years which has periodically intersected with the work building inspectors do. That said, I was frustrated by Bartram's failure to address two issues which, in my experience, often counter her narrative of "stabs at justice."First, she entirely ignores the role of political clout. As she notes, these are really attractive jobs, usually filled by retired members of the building trades. However, historically, like so many jobs in Chicago, hiring has not been made on merit, but on political contact. Inspectors, at least in the past, were almost always sponsored by Aldermen or Committeemen for those jobs. This inevitably colored the way they did their jobs. If an alderman thought a building in their ward was an eyesore, then building inspectors would come down hard on the building. If the building owner was a supporter of the local alderman, then few if any code violations would be written. Maybe this phenomena has completely disappeared in recent years, but the fact that Bartram completely ignores politics in his work is troubling.Second, is the role building inspectors have played in the gentrification of neighborhoods. This issue is touched on by Bartram, but a much more in depth analysis is needed. In my experience working in rapidly gentrifying Uptown over the last 40+ years, when a building is occupied by poor people on a black where other buildings have been converted to condos or high-end rentals, the building with poorer occupants will be written up for every single code violation the inspectors can find, regardless of whether the owner is struggling, or a multi-building owner making lots of money from rents. This can be a force for good, or bad, for the neighborhood. On one hand, if the intent is to force the building owner to sell (or convert), then it contributes to the destruction of the neighborhood by forcing displacement. On the other hand, such intense code enforcement can be used by the City to induce an owner to sell the building to a not-for-profit for the purpose of maintaining it as a low cost rental building. Whether this is a good or bad use of the building code is worth discussing. But Bartram virtually ignores the question.One final point. Many of the violations found by building inspectors do not end up in court. Rather, they are sent to administrative enforcement--where it appears that the purpose is to generate fines, rather than to ensure buildings are repaired. Bartram completely ignores this parallel universe of code enforcement as cash generator for the city.All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a behind the scenes look at how the integrity of Chicago's housing stock is ensured by the City. I also look forward to another book on this subject which delves into the questions Bartram leaves unexamined.