> Landlords also have an interest in the community as they own equity in that community that would appreciate if the neighborhood gets nicer. Yes, but obviousl

> Landlords also have an interest in the community as they own equity in that community that would appreciate if the neighborhood gets nicer. Yes, but obviously people care most about the communities that they actually live in. "Absentee lords mainly want to extract cash" probably means that, as you say, a landlords interest in their community is related to their investment and the opportunity for the value to rise. People that actually live there have other interests, as the landlord does with the location they actually live. Someone renting out a room in their house or half of a duplex isn't absentee, and would have many non-profit interests in the local community. A landlord that lived a few hours away probably would not.