My main research interests focus on the political and legal processes that shape life in cities. Much of my research seeks to understand how the Ethiopian government draws up new capabilities by urban planning amid the broader urbanization process unfolding in East Africa today. As a midwesterner, too, I have long been interested in how cities of the upper midwest relate to broader geographies. Even a single neighborhood can reveal future possibilities owing to migration trends, economic forces, environmental change, and political movements. I read lots of work by human geographers and others. I am a board member of the AAG Legal Geographies Specialty Group and a member of the Relational Poverty Network.
