My major area of interest, broadly defined, is urban politics. Born and raised in Brooklyn (which is still the 4th largest city!), I had an early education about urban areas that was shaped by some very practical activities—turning empty lots into playgrounds, keeping the hand ball court for hours, dodging traffic, and learning the subway lines.  Over the years, this practical education morphed into a concern with issues of housing and community development, neighborhood politics and community organizations, and political leadership and urban public policy.  While researching and writing on these topics, my fixation with the practical persisted.  In 1997, I started the University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia in an effort to leverage some of the research and pedagogical expertise of the university for larger community ends.  With a focus on community development and youth civic engagement, the UCCP conducts direct programming, capacity building at the organizational and individual levels, and applied research activities in collaboration with community based and other nonprofit organizations.  Working with some very talented, creative, and committed community leaders and young people prompted me to think more deeply and systematically about the university’s role in the community, about civic engagement as a tool for political empowerment, and about pedagogical approaches to preparing young people to live in a democratic society.   My approach is interdisciplinary, relying on works from the various social sciences, and it is heavily informed by the “view from the street.” 

Areas of Interest:Civic engagement as a tool for political empowerment; approaches to community building; university community relations, in particular, the university’s role as a civic actor; and educating for democracy

Recent Publications and Papers:

“Leveraging Social Capital: The University as Educator and Broker”  (2006) in Richardson Dilworth, ed.  The Place That Loves You Back: Community and Social Capital in Philadelphia.  Temple University Press.

“Youth Civic Engagement in Practice: The Youth VOICES Program.”  (November 2005). The Good Society, Committee on the Political Economy of the Good Society. V14, #3:45-51

“The Challenges of Agenda Conflict in Higher Education-Community Research Partnerships: Views from the Community Side.”  Journal of Urban Affairs.  (2004)V26, #2:241-257.  With T.L. Hill.

“Building the Spatial Community: A Case Study of Neighborhood Institutions.”  Policy Studies Review. Special Symposium Issue on the Role of Non Profit Organizations.  (Winter, 2002):53-70 with Patrick Kaylor.