My research focuses on racial inequality and residential segregation by race.
Most of that work focuses on the housing boom
and bust of the early 20th century and
how that resulted in sometimes widening
inequality between people of color and
white Americans. In my most recent paper
I looked at racial differences
in the trajectories of home equity
households have and how that was a
function of both predatory subprime
mortgage lending during the boom as well
as more unemployment and foreclosures
clustered in minority communities
during the recession.The impact that I hope
my research will have is changing the
public conversation about race and
public policy with a particular focus on
how where we live and where we go to
school and where we work affects inequality.
I also hope that my research
will inspire students as well as other
scholars to further research on housing
opportunity, neighborhood mobility,
improving schools, and improving job
access and economic stability within poor communities.
