Book Discussion: Brave New Home

Join CVOEO and the South Burlington Housing Committee for a community discussion of Brave New Home, Diana Lind’s widely praised examination of how America’s reliance on single-family housing has shaped our economy, our communities, and our daily lives. Drawing on history, policy, and contemporary examples, Lind outlines the consequences of our current housing system and presents a range of innovative alternatives — including multigenerational housing, ADUs, tiny homes, co-living, intentional communities, and zoning reform.The book invites readers to rethink long-held assumptions about what “home” should look like and consider how more flexible, inclusive housing options could strengthen communities like ours.

"In this bracing new book, Diana Lind, long one of America's sharpest thinkers on urban issues, delivers a wake-up call to a country whose mental and legal paradigms on housing are stuck in the past."-Matthew Yglesias, Vox.com co-founder and author of One Billion Americans

" I know of no other single source that so completely and cogently explains the isolation en masse that characterizes American housing today, as well as the brilliant alternatives that may be just one zoning-code tweak away."-Jeff Speck, city planner and author of Walkable City

"Utterly fascinating and incredibly important, Brave New Home shows how the single family suburban home has gone from the shining symbol of the American Dream to a veritable nightmare for our economy and society. "-Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class

"Brave New Home urges us to reimagine American housing policy and practice."-Darren Walker, president, Ford Foundation

Over the past century, American demographics and social norms have shifted dramatically. More people are living alone, marrying later in life, and having smaller families. At the same time, their lifestyles are changing, whether by choice or by force, to become more virtual, more mobile, and less stable. But despite the ways that today's America is different and more diverse, housing still looks stuck in the 1950s.

In Brave New Home, Diana Lind shows why a country full of single-family houses is bad for us and our planet, and details the new efforts underway that better reflect the way we live now, to ensure that the way we live next is both less lonely and more affordable. Lind takes readers into the homes and communities that are seeking alternatives to the American norm, from multi-generational living, in-law suites, and co-living to microapartments, tiny houses, and new rural communities.

Drawing on Lind's expertise and the stories of Americans caught in or forging their own paths outside of our cookie-cutter housing trap, Brave New Home offers a diagnosis of the current American housing crisis and a radical re-imagining of future possibilities.

Need help finding a copy of the book? Please ask at the library! Want to watch/listen instead of read? See interviews on the author's website.

Can't be here in person? Join us on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89150910463?pwd=sGdADvTmTiQfXnIzAzbSawi4iFllYZ.1