ABSTRACT
We are engaged here in a similar quest, attempting to explain collective action in the place of residence. The Marxist theory of collective action argues that objective, relational interests may be the basis for group formation and inter-group conflict. The neo-Weberian theory of “housing classes” argues that such interests inhere not only in a group’s relationship to productive property, but also in a group’s relationship to “domestic property”—land and buildings that are used for housing.2 Combining these theoretical strands, we are led to the proposition that the cleavages and conflicts of residential neighborhoods may be explained, in part, by the different and competing interests that people have in a neighborhood’s land and buildings. A better understanding of the conditions for collective action on a territorial basis begins with a better understanding of the interests engendered by domestic property.3
