my research focuses on how state institutions (re)produce racial-spatial inequality
I am a (sub)urban sociologist and critical criminologist who studies contemporary inequality in U.S. cities and suburbs. My research agenda is motivated by questions like: How do local, state, and federal government institutions shape and respond to shifting demographics, technological changes, and socio-economic conditions? And what is the role of the criminal legal system in perpetuating residential segregation in the post-civil rights era? I rely on a range of methods and research designs, with an emphasis on computational approaches and spatial data analysis. I also draw inspiration from interdisciplinary work, integrating insights from geography, demography, and urban studies.
I am currently a Provostial Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Stanford University.
RECENT PUBLICATION
The politics of police technology adoption Journal of Urban Affairs
Who governs policing, one of the primary points of everyday contact between individuals and government? In this paper, we examine the adoption of controversial new policing technologies that leverage information and communication technologies such as drones and body-worn cameras. Drawing on a new dataset tracking municipal adoption across several policing technologies in the state of California, we find that the strongest predictor of adoption across technology type is the number of sworn officers in a municipality. We also find evidence of spatial diffusion, with cities more likely to adopt technologies their neighbors have implemented. Our findings suggest that the influence of bureaucracies and geographic proximity warrant more attention in studies of local and urban politics. Read coverage here.
METHODS
Computational, Spatial, and Qualitative
With training in computational social science as well as spatial analysis and interview-based methods, my work draws on data sources ranging from the U.S. Census to housing market data, spatial and administrative data as well as in-depth interviews.