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Journal Article 1: Squires, G. (2007). Demobilization of the individualistic bias: Housing market discrimination as a contributor to labor market and economic inequality. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 609(1), 200-214.

Abstract: Racial discrimination in the nation’s housing markets and patterns of residential segregation have contributed to labor market inequalities and economic disparities generally. Housing values are suppressed in minority communities, undercutting wealth accumulation by nonwhite families. Job growth in suburban communities coupled with the concentration of public housing in central city communities restricts minority access to jobs. A range of institutionalized practices by housing providers and public policies by government agencies at all levels have nurtured and exacerbated racial inequalities grounded in traditional stereotypes.

Journal Article 2: Williamson, T. (2008). Sprawl, spatial location, and politics: How ideological identification tracks the built environment. American Politics Research, 36(6), 903-933.

Abstract: This study explores how spatial characteristics commonly associated with suburban sprawl (including density, reliance on the automobile, neighborhood age, and commuting patterns) help predict voting patterns and individual ideological orientation. Researchers find that, at the county level, greater reliance on automobile commuting and younger housing stock were strong predictors of greater support for the Republican candidate in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, controlling for demographic factors. Using the 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, researchers also find that greater automobile reliance and younger housing stock, measured at the census tract level, are strong predictors of more conservative ideological orientation among individuals, controlling for other individual and contextual factors.

Journal Article 3: Chifos, C. (2007). The sustainable communities experiment in the United States: Insights from three federal-level initiatives. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 26(4), 435-449.

Abstract: This paper documents and analyzes a portion of the U.S. government’s attempt to adopt the concept of sustainability after 1992. Numerous case studies of individual sustainable community development projects exist, although almost no literature describes the coordinated federal-level effort to create and implement a sustainable development policy from 1993 to 2000. Case studies of three prominent federal-level sustainable community programs are developed from twenty guided interviews and existing government documents.

Journal Article 4: Racki, J., Patel, P., & DeGroot, D. (2014). Africa 2050: Urbanization. Global Journal of Emerging Market Conditions, 6(1), 15-34.

Abstract: This article puts forward an agenda for achieving the 2050 vision that focuses on unlocking a more systematic approach to urban development and management. This requires the development of new partnerships for urban development and management, between tiers of government, with the private sector and citizens. It requires a greater focus on using local resources to leverage the financing needed to support urban growth.

Journal Article 5: Lucas, R. (2013). Life satisfaction of U.S. counties predicts population growth. Social Psychological & Personality Science, 5(4), 383-388.

Abstract: Subjective well-being (SWB) reflects an overall evaluation of the quality of a person’s life from his or her perspective. Although SWB is typically studied at the individual level, social scientists have become increasingly interested in the well-being of broader regions like cities, states, or nations. The current study examines the association between aggregate well-being and an important behavioral indicator of regional success: migration and population growth. Using life satisfaction data from over 2 million respondents, along with population data from 2000 to 2010, the author shows that U.S. counties with higher levels of life satisfaction grew at substantially faster rates than did counties with low life satisfaction.