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  • Admissions Events

  • Contact Us

    Admission Contact
    Anne Lanza
    72 Fifth Avenue, 1st floor
    New York, NY 10011
    646.909.3921
    [email protected]

    Program Contact
    Public and Urban Policy PhD
    72 Fifth Avenue, room 707
    New York, NY 10011
    [email protected]
    212.229.5400 x1503

  • Current Students

    Public and Urban Policy PhD students at the Milano School conduct research in a wide range of areas.

    Recent dissertations have examined systemic strategies to address homelessness in Texas; the mobility experience of workers in Mexico City; migrant representation during the European “refugee crisis” in the UK; urban informality in Bogotá; the production of the public sphere in post-Fidel Cuba; property tax limitations in the delivery of public services by local governments; educational disadvantage of migrant children in urban China; the impact of changes in poverty on neighborhood conditions; and home ownership after the great recession.

    Learn more about the research interests of our current students.

    NameResearch Interests
    Adebayo AlabiThe effects of housing policy on local economic development and community well-being
    Amogh ArakaliAmogh Arakali's doctoral research examines the intersection of economy, environment, and urbanization, focusing on Asia and India. He studies the way economic policy influences the development of urbanizing regions in Asia and India, focusing on local and regional environmental transformations.
    Fatimah Al-KhaldiHousing policy, racial capitalism, low-income migration, the Middle Eastern and North African region
    Valerie J. AmorDeveloping regenerative, environmentally just, and equitable designs and policies addressing climate change impacts on coastal urban cities
    Muhammad Amir AnsariThe effects of intergovernmental fiscal systems on local economic development: a case study of Pakistan
    Florencia BarindelliDeterminants and effects of highly skilled labor migration and the implications for public policy
    Andrés BernalThe political and discursive dimensions of public policy in shaping the Green New Deal as a response to a crisis of political ecology in the United States
    John BettsCritical homelessness studies, right-to-shelter policy in New York City, homeless governance, privatization of the American welfare state, new materialisms, critical theory, and how policy systems (un)intentionally perpetuate the conditions they are attempting to correct
    Raven E. BrownNeoliberalism, the right to housing and the evolution of the welfare state in post-apartheid South Africa—broadly, capitalism and democracy in the post-Soviet era and democratic transitions and social movements—utilizing qualitative and participatory methods
    Carlos José Celis OrtegaPublic health policies and the relations between environment and culture
    Elizabeth CuccaroDifference Making in the Age of ADHD: Parenting, Policy, and Professional Practice—An ethnographic study of policy, professional practice, and cultures of parent advocacy around attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and related learning differences (ADHD/LD)
    Mackenzie DalyResearch investigates the genealogy and transformation of social welfare. Examines basic income and its relationship to social welfare, economy, and labor markets.
    Aratrika DebnathEnhancing disaster risk mitigation through analytical governance frameworks, with the help of citizen science and digital platforms, to develop sustainable urban resettlement strategies
    Diana Denza
    Arts-based participatory approaches to urban placemaking, artistic interpretations of and responses to urban gentrification and displacement, queering urban spaces 
    Mark DurrantDesign research, spatial politics of land, creation of Black alternative spaces, right to the city, and decolonial theory
    Liat EisenThe role of public space in divided cities in the age of social networks; the effects of geopolitical changes on cities that are split along ethnic and religious lines, privatization of public space, sovereignty and control of the public domain
    Sarah FarsadAffirmative action policies and diversity initiatives implemented to diminish racial inequities in higher education in the U.S., with an emphasis on art and design programs
    Belen FoddeFood Governance and Food Security in Slums. The Case of Villa 20, Buenos Aires, Argentina. An analysis on food policies and governance and their impact on households' food security
    Isis GambleSocial movements/collective action; right to the city; mobility justice; affordable transportation and transportation justice; pedagogy for urban planning; asset based community development
    Cynthia Golembeski
    Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar using mixed methods to analyze how policy, law, ethics, and management operate at the nexus of criminal legal and health systems as determinants of health and safety; philanthropy, nonprofit management, social safety net programs, civic and political participation, and global health
    Charlisa Goodlet Developing a race-conscious framework for policy analysis in legislation and advocating for an equitable approach in policies such as combating racialized poverty and promoting inclusive economic policy. 
    Cedric GottfriedUrban-rural interconnectedness, power relations, regional cooperation versus competition, land and natural resources management, regional metabolism, territorialization of energy and resource sobriety
    Michael Harrington Researching how to design cities and urban policy from an environmental justice perspective in order to not perpetuate designed injustices 
    Harold HindsEducation policy
    Te Asia Hunter Te Asia's research examines the criminalization of Black midwives and their practice throughout U.S. history and how it has facilitated current-day experiences of obstetric racism and limited the number of birthing options for all birthing people. She particularly focuses on what U.S. midwifery scope-of-practice laws reveal about anti-Blackness, misogynoir, racial capitalism, and carcerality in medicine and society at large.
    Martha JaimesThe effects of urban infrastructure and labor market dynamics on urban productivity and local economic development, with a focus on Bogotá, Colombia
    Lina JaramilloLina is working on a qualitative research study on the policy advocates' role of Afro-Colombian grassroots communities in Bojayá, Colombia, supporting the implementation of the peace agreement in rural areas
    Audrey Jenkins
    Audrey studies infrastructures of ecological democracy in the context of urban transformations, looking at practices and flows of material and social power that may sustain public participation in the cultivation and application of knowledge in the design, development, and stewardship of social-ecological systems. Audrey's dissertation explores the case example of community composting networks and policymaking for organic waste systems in New York City.
    Giulia LavagnaThe efficacy of inclusionary zoning as a means of affordable housing production in developing countries
    Hoyeon LeePolitical economy of labor market inequality; labor and urban policies; social welfare policies
    Andrea Patricia Llinás Vahos Llinas Vahos' academic-activist positioning is grounded in critical theory, abolitionism, decolonial feminism, antiracism, and queer politics. Her dissertation intends to analyze the features of recidivism prevention policy with a gender focus.
    Anan A. MaaloufUrban and transport planning, mobility theory, municipal and institutional capacity, public transportation networks, GIS and spatial analysis, and policymaking; research focusing on assessing municipal capacities of Arab cities in Israel by examining public transportation development practices and policies
    Jeanine Marie
    Social, economic, and resource equity, reproductive justice, and social safety net programs
    Lisa McClainRestorative justice, focusing on not only city jails and the members of service that place these individuals there but, most important. the judicial system which governs who goes where
    Jeanine Marie The embeddedness of faith-based pregnancy centers in the welfare state and the ways in which the state endorses them via policy design and administration. The politics of welfare and poverty policy, histories of abortion politics, gendered citizenship, neoliberal era deregulation, health care privatization, and FBO social services provision.
    Raymond MedinaWith a concentration on New York City, researching how economic policy is developed, implemented, and tracked, including the influence of neoliberal values and economic arrangements; whom policies most directly benefit and cost; and how effectively housing, education, workforce and business development, and capital access policies holistically advance economic inclusion, civic engagement, and equity.
    Olivia Nasser XimenesThe link between urban development, corruption, and illegal settlement
    Veronica Olivotto Processes of policy deliberation around urban climate change risk and resilience, including production and access to relevant/usable scientific knowledge of climate risks at different scales and situated power dynamics; New York City and South America
    Wilfred Oyekanmi Transcending inequality and social exclusion: multilateralism, human rights, and people of African descent
    Claribel RamirezEconomic development strategies, poverty, and the hunger trap in Puerto Rico
    Ishita Rahman Coastal city resilience to climate change for small island developing states and developing countries: observing Havana, Cuba, and Chittagong, Bangladesh 
    Jeannette RauschPublic participation in urban land-use development and urban waterfront development
    Alquena ReedIn my research on Black women and workforce development, I delve into the multifaceted challenges they face in the labor market. I explore the intricate relationship between attitudes, both internal and external, and their impact on the perceived value of Black women's labor. By examining how societal attitudes and individual beliefs intersect with workforce development, I aim to uncover the nuanced factors influencing the labor value assigned to Black women and contribute valuable insights to the ongoing discourse on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
    Jason RochfordDomestic outsourcing, the gig economy, and the impact of online labor platforms on workers and cities
    Nicolas Jose Rodriguez Studying the upgrading of the horticulture value chain in Argentina's prairies, the main objective being to provide public policy recommendations for value addition and productive sustainable transition from extensive monocropping, in cooperation with government bodies, institutions, private firms, and civil society
    Camila RonderosLow-income housing, informal settlements, access to credit, and the role of housing microfinance in Latin America; slum redevelopment and relocation policies and the effect on household income
    Akilah RosadoA Sense of Belonging: investigating the classroom experiences of Black children in predominately white progressive independent schools in NYC that have implemented a racial equity curriculum and culturally responsive pedagogy
    Rea Ruiz Building power and solidarity between communities: exploring impacts of diasporic grassroots organizing on community development and urban policy
    Rebecca ScheerThe development and use of community development indicators to improve neighborhood well-being
    Leopolda Silvera My research in biosurveillance can demonstrate and shape the way spatial literacy is used to redesign spaces to reduce pathogen-borne transmissions through development of “heatmaps” that show perceived high-risk data markers, which can be used to implement policy in the design of public and private spaces. 
    Michael StackThe effects of mass incarceration and the growing racial wealth gap on sustainable community development, with particular attention to abandoned ghettos in American cities
    Katja Starc Card Exploring the relationship between the state and society at the city level, my research focuses on municipal governance in fragile and conflict-affected settings
    Julie SyversenKey areas of interest include climate change, disaster risk reduction, and urban resilience; current research focusing on how communities can recover after disasters caused by natural hazards—particularly exploring the relationship between different actors in a disaster recovery process
    Azra TanovićNexus of climate change and global conflict and understanding how climate change will impact global (in)security in the coming decades
    Manuel Valderrama FlorezApproaches and techniques that aid understanding the complexities of implementation and evaluation of public policy
    Monise Valente da Silva Housing justice struggles and alternative ways of living and inhabiting urban space in Global South cities 
    Jennifer Ventrella Policy implementation of clean energy transitions in New York State: neoliberal regimes and counter-hegemonic alternatives
    Michael WilliamsThe effects of public workforce programs on improving labor market outcomes for long-term unemployment for low-income minority men in New York City
    Peter ZayasPolicing disparities between minority communities and the general population by ascertaining barriers to police reform implementation
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