Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Urban neighborhoods that once served as sites of affordable housing and locations for cultural transformations of historic importance are now gentrifying. In low- and moderate-income urban neighborhoods hip-hop music and dance emerged, as a socio-cultural art form, in part, as a response to the harsh realities of urban life. In New York City, for example, hip-hop culture developed in the community rooms, basements, and playgrounds of moderate and low-income housing projects. Yet, the future affordability and the cultural composition of hip-hop's original birthplaces are now uncertain. Expiring affordable housing laws are now causing a loss of affordable rental housing in New York City's birthplaces of hip-hop.

In the past, historic preservation law has often been an agent of gentrification and displacement in poor minority neighborhoods. This study explores whether historic preservation law can be reoriented to protect not only the edifices that were essential features in the evolution of hip-hop, but also their affordable status. This project requires that preservationists expand the current conception of historic preservation law to include not only historic edifices, but also historic uses that may advance critical goals such urban socio-economic, racial and ethnic diversity. My work will balance normative goals such as freedom of contract against competing goals of distribution and equity. This case study will hopefully advance legal scholarship about affordable housing preservation and discourses at the intersection of law and culture. It will also provide affordable housing advocates with additional legal tools

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: The goal of this research is to provide information that could improve the provision of conservation easements for the purpose of helping rural communities preserve their amenities, enhance both quality of life and economic viability, while also protecting valuable natural resources for future generations. We are exploring factors affecting conservation easement transactions. Little research has been conducted regarding the market for conservation easements, despite the increase in conservation easement legislation and the growing number of land trusts. No studies have examined both the buyers and sellers of conservation easements. Focus group sessions were conducted with both agents of land trusts and rural landowners. Preliminary findings from these sessions indicate there is both overlap and divergences between land trusts and landowners regarding easement preferences. Educational efforts for landowners and land trust agents illustrating potential commonalities and areas of concern could improve the likelihood of easements being transacted in rural areas.

Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: Charles Tilly has famously argued that “war makes states,” and he has described the emergence and increasing dominance of a particular kind of state – the “national” or “consolidated” state -- in Europe from 990 to 1990 (1985, 170). In this paper, I consider whether Tilly’s argument can be applied to understand what it will take to make and preserve states in the 21st century. I argue that, although Tilly argues that international, military, and economic conditions were vital to the emergence and dominance of European states from 990 to 1990, his treatment of these variables is too contingent and ad hoc to yield testable hypotheses about state birth and survival. Moreover, his ruminations about the future of the state suggest that Tilly himself does not expect his conclusions to travel. To move from description to prediction, it is necessary to develop a systematic understanding of contextual conditions such as international anarchy, polarity, and prevailing military and economic technologies. At the end of the paper, I summarize the approach I have taken to this problem, as well as my preliminary findings, which suggest that these conditions continue to influence state formation and survival.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper argues that there is much within group ideological and practical variation among gentrifiers, and that a narrow focus on gentrification’s outcomes has encouraged over-emphasis of the urban pioneer who seeks economic and status benefits from the restoration of the central city. While the desire to purchase an affordable home is a draw for gentrifiers of every ilk, most cite this as one of multiple motivations for their move. The motivations for their relocation, experience of their place of residence, and practices are expansive. Gentrifiers celebrate diverse features of their place of residence, and have different attitudes about gentrification and old-timers. This ideological variation is of import, for gentrifiers’ appreciation for certain local attributes contributes to their vision of the future of a place and shapes their practices, particularly their relationship to old-timers.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Guatemala has been faced with a daunting set of issues since the signing of the country's historical peace accords in December 1996. The prospects for consolidating peace and democracy have depended on the successful reform of political, legal, and military institutions as well as the re-negotiation of political participation, in particular equal and meaningful participation for historically marginalized groups. The hemisphere's multilateral forum, the Organization of American States (OAS) has been supporting these reform efforts through various peacebuilding initiatives. Particularly relevant to the Guatemalan context is the fact that the OAS has recently expanded its peacebuilding and democracy strengthening agenda to include conflict prevention programs.  It is during the phase following the signing of peace accords that activities aimed at preventing a renewed outbreak of violent conflict are considered especially valuable. With this in mind, the Organization established a program to help Guatemalans address ongoing tensions and political disputes, particularly related to the implementation of the accords, before they spiral into destructive violence.  The program entitled Culture of Dialogue: Development of Resources for Peacebuilding in Guatemala (OAS-PROPAZ)  has focussed on strengthening the capacities of governmental, civic, and community institutions to manage and resolve disputes in collaborative ways. My paper argues that the PROPAZ programme represents an innovative and commendable initiative who's achievements can be attributed to a confluence of factors: the right moment in time, the right staff, its fluid and adaptable nature. However, I conclude that it is unlikely that such a program can be easily replicated for a number of reasons which I outline in the last section of the paper.