Rhetoric and Technical Communication in Hope VI: An Analysis of Race and Participatory Capture in U.S. Housing

Rhetoric and Technical Communication in HOPE VI presents a rhetorical analysis of key documents and technical writing associated with HOPE VI, a federal mixed-income, public housing program. Despite mandating resident participation, HOPE VI increased homelessness, reinforced racial segregation, and facilitated gentrification projects that priced out low-income residents. Christopher J. Morris considers this phenomenon of participatory capture, in which participation works against the most vulnerable participants. By articulating participatory capture in contemporary American housing, Morris articulates the dominant narratives, discourses, and methods the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development used to leverage participatory methods and discourses to maintain social inequity. In exploring participation’s pitfalls, the author also offers scholars and practitioners alike an alternative to participation: sovereign design rhetoric.

Christopher J. Morris is assistant professor of writing at York University in Toronto, Canada.