Research and Publications
My research utilizes critical theoretical perspectives and mixed methods grounded in a participatory action research approach to illuminate understudied housing types, stakeholders, and solutions. The goal of my research is to highlight the lived experience of marginalized communities to advocate for and support more just, equitable, and sustainable development rooted in community-based solutions. I have published research in prominent urban planning and community development journals, edited volumes, and reports and other public-facing forms. My research examines the role of philanthropic foundations in development and governance of low-income neighborhoods; housing informality in urban and rural communities throughout the U.S.; hidden forms of housing precarity in urban and unincorporated areas; and community wealth building housing models - community land trusts, limited-equity housing cooperatives, and resident-owned communities.
EDITED VOLUMES
A New Look at Place-Based Philanthropy: Insights from Canada and the U.S. (2023)
In this edited volume, the authors present rich case studies of place-based philanthropy in the United States and Canada that make a strong conceptual and empirical argument for the importance, and growing imperative, of place-based philanthropy in 2023 and beyond. Offering a multidisciplinary theoretical grounding in the connection between philanthropy and place, the case studies range from foundations engaged in disaster recovery, to a First Nations UNESCO site, to a funder collaborative targeting 30 neighborhoods in Montreal, to a private foundation developing a model for holistic change. Collectively, the case studies bring into the conversation the meanings that stakeholders bring to diverse spaces and communities, initiatives to effect change in underserved communities, and the tension that may result as place is (re)defined through philanthropic work. The themes and lessons that emerge from the case studies offer insights for practitioners, scholars, and students of philanthropy.
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
A Mixed-Methods Assessment of Energy Insecurity in the US. Journal of the American Planning Association (2025)
Exploring Place-Based Initiatives in Philanthropic Community Development: A Transnational Examination of Canadian and U.S. Foundations. Local Development & Society, 5(1), 181-199. (2024)
An Index to Identify and Classify the Spectrum of U.S. Peri-Urban Informal Subdivisions. Journal of Planning Education and Research, OnlineFirst. (2024)
Community Development on Tap: How Local Breweries Provide Creative Community-Centered Spaces and Initiatives for Advancing Economic and Social Capital. Community Development, OnlineFirst. (2024)
Canada-U.S. comparative study of place-based grantmaking philanthropy. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 15(1), 120-137. (2024)
Deciding on Justice: Environmental Justice in City Council Agenda-Setting. Local Environment, 28(9), 1063-1081. (2023)
Building Neighborhood Stability?: An Examination of Comprehensive Community Initiative Efficacy through the Case of Purpose Built Communities. (Revise and Resubmit, Community Development)
Insecure Peri-Urban Areas: Transportation Access and Employment Outcomes in a Dallas County Unincorporated Community. (Under Review, Cities)
Problems in Participatory Governance: The Case of Environmental Justice Governance in a North Texas Unincorporated Neighborhood. (Under Review, Local Environment)
BOOK CHAPTERS
Racial Discrimination and Housing Precarity in U.S. Peri-Urban Areas: The Case of a North Texas Unincorporated Subdivision. In Routledge Handbook of Precarious Housing. (Forthcoming, Routledge)
(Re)Racializing Neighbourhoods for Capital Accumulation: The Racial Projects of CCIs and Innovation Districts. In The Handbook for the Geographies of Race. (Forthcoming, DeGruyter)
Building Stone Brewing. In J. Wartell & V. Vasquez (eds.), Craft Breweries and Cities: Perspectives from the Field. New York: Routledge. (2024)
Neoliberalism and the Growth of the Philanthropic Sector in the United States and Canada. In J-M Fontan, M. Martinz-Cosio, J.Newton, N. Pole, & M. Rabinowitz Bussell (eds)., A New Look at Place-Based Philanthropy: Insights from Canada and the U.S. Altona, Canada: FriesenPress. (2023)
The Home of Progressive Philanthropy: Liberty Hill Foundation and Place-Based Community Organizing in Los Angeles. In J-M Fontan, M. Martinz-Cosio, J.Newton, N. Pole, & M. Rabinowitz Bussell (eds)., A New Look at Place-Based Philanthropy: Insights from Canada and the U.S. Altona, Canada: FriesenPress. (2023)
Place-Based Disaster Philanthropy: The Greater New Orleans Foundation and Regional Collaboration on Equity. In J-M Fontan, M. Martinz-Cosio, J.Newton, N. Pole, & M. Rabinowitz Bussell (eds)., A New Look at Place-Based Philanthropy: Insights from Canada and the U.S. Altona, Canada: FriesenPress. (2023)
BOOK REVIEWS
Book Review of Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy: Can We Make American Democracy Work? Local Development & Society, OnlineFirst. (2025)
Book Review of Nonprofit Neighborhoods: An Urban History of Inequality and the American State. Journal of Planning History, 23(3), 239-242. (2024)
PUBLIC-FACING WORK
Daily Challenges Navigating SRO Buildings: Centering the Lived Experiences of Disabled and Senior SRO Residents to Inform Policy. A Report for Homelessness Hub at University of California, San Diego. (2025)
Improving Accessibility in Downtown Single-Room Occupancy Hotels. Policy Brief Submitted to the California Research Bureau. (2025)
Now is the Time of Monsters: Will Political Polarization Be the End of Social Justice Philanthropy in the U.S.? The Philanthropic Year, 6, Summer, 90-93. (2025)
Participatory Energy Justice: Overcoming Energy Poverty in a North Texas Peri-Urban Informal Subdivision. In F. Jacobs, E. Harrington, & W. Lyles, Interface: Just Energy Transitions, Planning Theory & Practice. (2024)
Confronting Environmental Injustice and Precarity: A Case Study of a Freedom Colony in North Texas. Case Study Published at ACSP-Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Case Studies. (2024)
Environmental Justice and the Informal City. A White Paper Submitted to Crossing Latinidades Humanities Initiative at University of Illinois, Chicago. (2024)
Affordable Housing and Transportation Cost Burdens in San Diego County. A White Paper Submitted to the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies. (2024)
How Are Low-Income Older Adults Traveling, and What Barriers Do They Face? A Case Study from San Diego. Policy Brief Submitted to the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies.
Affordable Housing Residents in San Diego County Are Generally Satisfied with Transit Service, but There is Room for Improvemen. Policy Brief Submitted to the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies.
Housing, Water, Energy, Transportation, and Environmental Justice in Sand Branch, Texas. A White Paper Submitted to the Sand Branch Neighborhood Planning Committee. (2023, Available Upon Request)
Craft Brewery Dispersion: Reconsidering the Role of Planners in Encouraging Economic Development through Beer Tourism. In APA Economic Development Division News & Views Newsletter, Fall. (2022)
Shifting Power through Participatory Grantmaking: Liberty Hill Foundation’s Community Funding Board. The Philanthropic Year, 3, Winter, 39-41. (2021)