Recent research has uncovered a new phenomenon in some distressed areas, Black gentrification. Black gentrification follows the same pattern as mainstream gentrification with one exception: In Black gentrifying neighborhoods, both the poor and working class residents who resided in the neighborhood prior to its "gentrification" and the new residents of greater economic means are Black. An additional hallmark of Black gentrification that distinguishes it from traditional gentrification is that Black gentrifiers in Black gentrifying neighborhoods often feel a responsibility or obligation to the their lower income Black neighbors. Prior to the economic downturn in the United States, some in-town Atlanta neighborhoods were undergoing Black gentrification. (More)

This study examines how community development and mainstream environmental groups form coalitions in state-level urban environmental legislation, and the effect these coalitions have upon larger processes of institutional change. I argue that the alignment of community development and environmental interests is essential in the efforts to flatten the existing power hierarchy around land use decisionmaking and open up new possibilities for urban form. It helps to form a “counter-institutional” response, which combines “pragmatic” and “purist” interests to resolve the social and environmental dilemmas of land use. (More)

Proximity to major urban institutions presumably generates positive and negative externalities that can contribute to, or detract from, a neighborhood's residential appeal. (More)

This research studies inclusionary development statutes adopted in three New England states. The laws are intended to reduce suburban exclusion and increase the supply of affordable housing by inducing developers to build affordable housing as an integral part of residential projects. The research examines whether the laws have resulted in the creation of more affordable housing in exclusionary suburbs. (More)

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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires federally funded homeless service providers to participate in a homeless management information system (HMIS). While federally mandated, no one has examined how these technologies are being used. Theory and research suggest that the technology dissemination is contingent upon the organizational culture in which it is used. This study represents the first empirical analysis of HMIS use and explores the cross-level relationship between staff members' HMIS use and organizational culture. (More)

For most households in the United States, the majority of their wealth or assets exist within the equity of their home. In the past decade, predatory lending has arisen as a danger to homeowners by increasing the threat of foreclosure and bankruptcy. Predatory lending is usually understood to have excessive terms or rates that are inappropriate, and so disadvantageous to borrowers that it is considered abusive. (More)

This dissertation attempts to gain a more complete and sophisticated understanding of how current federal housing policy initiatives, with emphasis on those related to homelessness, affordable housing, and fair housing, are being implemented in and between three entitlement jurisdictions. (More)

Responsibility for establishing minimum parking requirements for new development largely falls on local governments. Unfortunately, many municipalities do not create parking standards that are appropriate to the various uses and locations that they regulate. Local parking standards are rarely derived from parking utilization studies, and are instead based on small, nationwide samples drawn from varying land use contexts offering varying transportation options. The standards applied to a particular development often do not depend on its physical environment. (More)

My research will examine the differential effects of three predominant HOPE VI relocation strategies on several outcomes. First, I will examine how relocation type (moves within the public housing development, to other public housing developments, or to other communities through Section 8) may differentially affect residents' social networks. (More)