Dr. Evan McKenzie, JD, PhD, is an Expert Witness and Attorney who has represented
Homeowner and Condominium Associations and Owners in complex litigation cases concerning the
Operation of Community Associations, Land Use, Construction Defect, and Insurance Bad Faith among others. He teaches political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and also teaches the
Law of Common Interest Communities in the LLM in Real Estate Program at The John Marshall Law School.
Dr. McKenzie has specialized knowledge in private governments set up by real estate developers to run common interest housing developments (CIDs), also known as "gated communities," "residential private governments," "homeowner associations," "condominium associations," "private communities," etc.
Having written about homeowner associations since 1985, Dr. McKenzie understands the "Micropolitics," the internal workings of homeowner associations as private governments, and the "Macropolitics," the relationship between homeowner associations and the larger community and society of which they are a part. His book,
Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Governments, was published by Yale University Press and won the American Political Science Association’s award for “Best Book on Urban Politics” in 1995. His second book on this subject,
Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government, was published by Urban Institute Press in 2011. Dr. McKenzie has become fairly well known for this body of work and has made numerous appearances in the media on shows including
ABC’s 20-20, appeared on
NPR nationally several times and often locally, and been quoted in all the major newspapers (
New York Times, Washington Post,.USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, etc.)
Areas of Expertise:
- Takings
- Condemnation
- Operation of Community Associations
- Land Use
- Construction Defect
- Privatization
- Insurance Bad Faith
- Gated Communities - Entry control: gates, guards, traffic barriers, key cards, etc.
- Perimeter Security: Walls, fences, motion sensors, natural barriers such as water
- Internal surveillance: roving police patrols, video surveillance, alarm systems
View Consulting Profile.
You are driving down a residential street in a private subdivision. Suddenly in your rear-view mirror you see oscillating yellow and white lights and realize that you are being pulled over. You stop and step out of your vehicle, but the officer tells you to get back in your vehicle and stay there, and you comply.
ABSTRACT Private communities, many of them gated, are the predominant form of new housing construction across much of the United States. The rapid spread of this institution is driven by structural forces such as rising land costs, local government fiscal constraints, and consumer preferences for security and control over space."
This article offers a broad conceptual framework for understanding the rise of commoninterest housing developments (CIDs), including gated communities, townhouse and condominium projects, and other planned communities.
Evan McKenzie, JD, PhD
explores emerging trends in private governments and competing schools of thought on how to operate them, from state oversight to laissez-faire libertarianism. The most common analyses see CIDs from a neoclassical economic, positive point of view. HOAs, this strain of analysis maintains, are more efficient and frugal than municipalities. And what could be more democratic than government of the neighbors, by the neighbors?
Evan McKenzie, JD, PhD
Published by Yale University Press, this book received the Best Book on Urban Politics Award from the American Political Science Association. It outlines the history of CID's (Common Interest Developments, often known as Homeowner's Associations in one of their various forms) and shows why they exist and continue to proliferate...
1/29/2013
Esteemed Experts.com member, Professor Evan McKenzie, JD, PhD, is the author of two books and an expert witness on the law of Common Interest Communities. As an attorney, he has represented homeowner and condominium associations and owners in complex litigation cases concerning the operation of community associations, land use, construction defects, and insurance bad faith among others.
