Transforming public housing subject of Feb. 20 talk

And urban neighborhood in Cincinnati. (James Fraser/Vanderbilt)

Reimagining the inner city is the focus of a talk by University of Chicago’s Robert J. Chaskin, who will speak at Vanderbilt on Feb. 20.

Chaskin

Chaskin is currently implementing the largest and most ambitious effort in the United States to redevelop inner city neighborhoods and promote poverty de-concentration through the transformation of public housing.

“Remaking the inner city: Integrationist aims and ends in large‐scale public housing reform” will begin at 2:30 in Room 204 of the Mayborn Building at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education and human development.

The event is free and open to the public, and media are welcome to attend.

James Fraser
James Fraser (Steve Green/Vanderbilt)

Chaskin’s visit is organized by James Fraser, associate professor in the Department of Human and Organizational Development at Peabody College. Fraser is a geographer who focuses on urban revitalization, public policy and social justice.

Chaskin and Fraser recently co-authored a paper for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Making Mixed-Income Neighborhoods Work For Low-Income Households,” and are both part of a larger consortium of researchers examining issues surrounding housing and urban redevelopment.

Chaskin is associate professor and deputy dean for strategic initiatives at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration; faculty director of the University of Chicago Urban Network; and an affiliated scholar at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

His new book, Integrating the Inner City: The Promise and Perils of Mixed-Income Public Housing Transformation (University of Chicago Press 2015) is being released this year.