The Color of Contract Law. Pratiche predatorie, giustizia spaziale e “sviluppo urbano sostenibile” negli Stati Uniti

Homebuyers in the US are currently entering into predatory agreements that combine all the responsibilities of homeownership with all the disadvantages of renting, while offering the benefits of the neither. Especially during the aftermath of 2007 subprime mortgage crisis, the lack of equal access to credit for homeownership pushed many people into buying houses “on contract”. Two pathways to homeownership have always existed within the US legal framework. On one hand, a well-established legal regime that formally provides families with secure, marketable title to their homes. On the other hand, an informal regime where the most vulnerable citizens (Black, Latino, immigrants and poor) buy “on contract”, something alike an installment land contracts whereby the seller could easily repossess the house, since he is entitled to evict the would-be owner even when a single monthly payment is missed. The formal/informal market divide shapes the American urban geography, as most vividly expressed in the sharp contrast between the living conditions in “golden ghettos” and slums, where there is nothing but poverty, segregation, exclusion and marginalization. The United Nations program for human settlements and sustainable urban development (UN-Habitat) indicates that bridging the aforementioned urban divide is a major goal of the 21 st century. Indeed, ensuring spatial justice in housing contributes to foster sustainable development: sustainable affordable housing policies improve access to adequate, safe and ecological housing and imply a degree of wealth redistribution. Furthermore, such policies, by reallocating justice in the space, serve to powerfully reinforce environmental justice. Nevertheless, this inquiry shows that the US homeownership informal market enhances injustices (and ghettoization) and by so doing undermines sustainable development goals. Therefore, this research underscores the urgency of a holistic approach to combating predatory lending practices, in a vein similar to the private/public sustainable cooperation experienced in the field of Energy Savings Performance Contracts.