AVIS C. VIDAL
Department of Urban Studies and Planning313-577-8842 (voice)
WayneStateUniversity313-577-0022 (fax)
3198Faculty &
DetroitMI48202
EDUCATION
1982Ph.D., Urban Planning, HarvardUniversity
1973Master of City Planning, HarvardUniversity
1967-68ColumbiaUniversity, Department of Public Law and Government (Comparative Politics)
1967 A.B. in International Relations, University of Chicago, Magna Cum Laude
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
2004-presentProfessor, Department of Urban Studies & Planning, Wayne State University
2001-2004Professor and Chair, Department of Geography & Urban Planning, College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs, WayneStateUniversity
1987-97Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Director of the CommunityDevelopmentResearchCenter, New School for Social Research
1984-87Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning, Kennedy School of Government, HarvardUniversity
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1978-84Assistant Professor, KennedySchool of Government and GraduateSchool of Design, HarvardUniversity
1973-74 &Instructor, Graduate School of Design, HarvardUniversity
1976-78
Courses taught for two-year professional masters degree candidates: Urban and Regional Systems; Community Development; Real Estate Development and Finance; South Africa Study Tour; Urban Planning Process; Advanced Seminar on Urban Policy Analysis and Management; Seminar on Comprehensive Community Renewal Initiatives; Urban Economic Development Policy; Housing Policy Seminar; Quantitative Methods; Urban Growth and Spatial Structure; Political and Institutional Analysis; Planning Workshop (final team project). Courses taught for undergraduates: Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning.
University service at Wayne State University includes: CLAS Faculty Council (including by-laws, strategic plan review, and curriculum subcommittees), 2006-present; Humanities Center Advisory Board, 2007-2009; Ad Hoc Committee to review to Robin Boyle’s performance as Chair; Search Committee Chair, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, 2006-7, 2007-8; Faculty Sponsor, Wayne State Student Urban Planners, 2006-present; Chair, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, 2001-04; College Budget Advisory Committee, Chair, 2002-03, Co-Chair, 2003-05; Chair’s Working Group on Electronic Admissions, 2003; Chairs Working Group on Assistance for New Chairs, 2003; Completion of Chair’s Academy sponsored by Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, September 2003; Co-Convenor of CULMA Urban Research Seminar, 2002-2004; Ex-Officio member of Faculty Search Committee, 2002-03; Planning Committee and Conference Presenter for CULMA Urban Forum, Winter 2002.
University service at the New School for Social Research included: Dean’s Search Committee, 1988 and 1990; University Research Committee (IRB Review) 1988-93; Faculty Development Committee, 1990-92 and 1995-97; Curriculum Committee, 1992-95; Ad Hoc Faculty Search Committee, 1988-91 (to fill 15 positions); Strategic Planning Committee, 1998.
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PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
1997-2001Principal Research Associate, Metropolitan Housing and CommunitiesPolicyCenter, The Urban Institute
2000-2001Principal Investigator and Project Director, Evaluation of the Community Outreach Partnerships Program
1997-2001Co-Principal Investigator and Co-Project Director, Interim Outcomes Assessment of the Federal Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Program
1987-1997Director, CommunityDevelopmentResearchCenter, New School for Social Research
1993 – 1994Co-Principal Investigator and Project Director, Housing Management by Nonprofit Organizations
1992 - 1996Project Director, Indiana Enterprise Zone Evaluation
1991-1996Co-Principal Investigator, Pre-Development Intervention and CommunityCapacityBuilding
1992- 1995Investigator, HOPE 3 Program Evaluation
1987-1990Principal Investigator, Community Economic Development Assessment
1982-1986Principal Investigator, Evaluation of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation
1982-1983Director, APPAM Senior Summer Institute, KennedySchool of Government
1979-1981Senior Analyst for Legislative and Urban Policy Staff, US. Department of Housing and Urban Development, including five months on detail to President’s Domestic Policy Staff
1973-1980Consultant to Abt Associates Inc. on the Housing Allowance Demand Experiment
HONORS
Urban Land Institute Fellow, 1995-2001; Merit Award for Outstanding Service of Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1980; Charles Abrams Fellow of the Joint Center for Urban Studies of M.I.T. and Harvard (1977-78); Faculty Fellow (Columbia University, 1967-68); Dean's List (University of Chicago, 1964-1965 and 1965-66); Nu Pi Sigma--honorary society for women (University of Chicago, 1964-65 and 1965-66); National Merit Scholar.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
1980-2010American Institute for Certified Planners
1972-PresentAmerican Planning Association
1987-Present Urban Affairs Association
1987-2003Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
1995-PresentUrban Land Institute
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SELECTED APPOINTMENTS
2002-PresentPlanning Accreditation Board Site Visitor Pool
1986-1997
2001-2009Community and Economic Development Advisory Council, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
1999-2005Board Member, Urban Affairs Association; Chair, By-Laws Committee, 2004-05; Chair, Best Book Award Committee, 2002-03; Secretary-Treasurer, 2000-01
1999-2008Editorial Board, Journal of Urban Affairs
1997-PresentEditorial Board, Housing Policy Debate
1995-2001Fellow, Urban Land Institute; Member, Inner City Council; Member, Urban Neighborhood Revitalization Forum, 2000-01; Member of Leadership Group, FY 2001
1994-2007Editorial Board, CityScape
1994-1997Board of Advisors, NationalCenter on Philanthropy and the Law, New YorkUniversityLawSchool
1992-1999Editorial Board, Urban Affairs Annual Reviews
1990-1995Editorial Board, Center for Urban Policy Research Press
1986-1992, Editorial Board, Journal of the American Planning Association
1996-2002
1990-1991Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on Housing
SERVICE TO THE FIELD
2011External reviewer for candidate for promotion to Professor with tenure, Harvard Graduate School of Education, March
2010External reviewer for candidate for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, September
2010Luncheon Address, “Rebuilding the Post-Industrial City: Reframing the Issues” at Symposium on Rebuilding the Post-Industrial City, sponsored by Journal of Law in Society, Wayne State Law School, March
2010Planning Accreditation Board Site Visit, University of Puerto Rico
2009Proposal Reviewer, National Science Foundation Geography and Spatial Sciences Program
2008Facilitator, Envisioning Greener Cleanups and Sustainable Reuse – Brownfields 2008 Design Charette, for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Focus: HOPE, May
2008Moderator, WSUHumanitiesCenter Conference, “Sovereignty, Justice and the Law,” April
2007Invited Seminar Participant, “Brownfields Redevelopment: Building the Capacity of Community-based Organizations, Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, Cambridge, June
2008Proposal Reviewer, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
2006Invited Panelist, “Measuring the Impact of Community Development,” Local Initiatives Support Corporation Urban Forum, Miami, November
2006Invited Panelist, “Did it Make a Difference: Measuring the Impact of Community Development,” National Community Reinvestment Conference: Winning Strategies for Community Development, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Las Vegas, March
2006Planning Accreditation Board Site Visit, Alabama A&M
2004Invited Participant in Symposium on Community Development Financial Institutions, Sponsored jointly by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland
2004Invited Participant in Leeds Castle Symposium on Community Change Research, Sponsored jointly by the Aspen Roundtable on Community Change and the King’s Fund
2004Panelist and Conference Co-Sponsor and Co-Host, Brownfields Redevelopment for Community-based Development Organizations, Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, Detroit, October
2004, 2000Invited Representative at Aspen Roundtable Retreat on Comprehensive Community Initiatives for Children and Families
2001-2004Advisory Committee, Measuring Community Change Small Grants Program, Aspen Roundtable on Comprehensive Community Initiatives for Children and Families
2001-2004Prisoner Re-Entry Roundtable, The Urban Institute
2000-2004Knowledge Initiative Advisory Committee, Fannie Mae Foundation
2001-2004Invited Guest Editor (with W. Dennis Keating), Special Issue on “New Perspectives in Community Development,” Journal of Urban Affairs
2004Interview on “Cool Cities” with Charity Nevee, Stateside, Michigan Public Radio (January)
2003Invited Participant in Fannie Mae Foundation’s Program Development Roundtable on “Building on Strength: Enhancing the Impact of Regional Nonprofit Developers” (November)
2003Invited Participant, Retreat on Community Development Theory, jointly sponsored by the Journal of the Community Development Society and the Ford Foundation (July)
2003Invited Participant, Strategy Focus Group for the Municipal Action to Reduce Poverty Project, National League of Cities (July)
2003Invited Lecture at JohnsHopkinsUniversity, “Public Policy Research and Social Problem Solving: the Case of Community Development” (April)
2003Invited Seminar at the World Bank, “Using Community Development and Social Capital Formation to Combat Urban Poverty” (April)
2003First Annual Franklin James Memorial Lecture on Urban Policy and Urban Poverty (University of Colorado at Denver, November)
2002Invited Participant in Roundtable on CDCs in Hot Market Cities, co-sponsored by the Surdna Foundation and Hope Communities Inc. (June)
2002Invited Public Lecture at CalvinCollege, “Community Organizing as a Community Development Strategy” (May)
2002Invited Public Lecture at MichiganStateUniversity, “Community Development as an Anti-Poverty Strategy” (March)
2002Book Discussion on “Community Organizing: Building Social Capital as a Development Strategy” sponsored by Urban Collaborators, Michigan State University Extension (March)
2001Invited Presentation to the Detroit Community Development Breakfast Club, “Interim Assessment of the Federal Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Program” (December)
2001Invited Presentation to Conference on Evaluating Social and Economic Community Development Initiatives sponsored by the Kellogg Foundation (January)
2000Advisor to the Hewlett Foundation on Families and Community Development – Neighborhood Revitalization Program
2000Invited Representative at Aspen Roundtable Retreat on Comprehensive Community Initiatives for Children and Families
1999-2000Urban Neighborhood Revitalization Forum, Urban Land Institute
1999Invited Panelist (with Edward Blakely and John Weicher) on “Urban Renewal and its Aftermath,” Annual Housing Conference of the Fannie Mae Foundation (September)
1999Invited Participant in the Development Leadership Network’s National Forum on Success Measures (April)
1999Invited Participant, “Approaches to Measuring Neighborhood Change,” Research symposium convened by the Fannie Mae Foundation (March)
1998Invited Testimony on H.R. 3865, the American Community Renewal Act, before theU.S.House of Representatives Small Business Committee
1998Advisor to The Pew Charitable Trusts on Investment Strategies to Advance Community Development in Philadelphia
1998-2000Best Practices Database Advisory Board, The Enterprise Foundation
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1997Invited presentation to OECD Conference on Local Strategies for Employment and the Social Economy: “Using Community Organizing to Create New Community Development Corporations” (June)
1994-1997 Board Member, Program on Philanthropy and the Law, New YorkUniversitySchool of Law
1996Invited Panelist, “Economic Development and Job Creation,” at Linking Regional and Local Strategies to Create Healthy Communities, a conference convened by the Institute on Race and Poverty, University of Minnesota Law School (April)
1995Executive briefings on Nonprofit Property and Asset Management for Shorebank Corporation; the Enterprise Foundation; The New York Community Trust; The Surdna Foundation; Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing; and Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
1995 Women and Community Development Ad Hoc Advisory Group, Ford Foundation
1995Facilitator, Concluding Session, “Building Community Through Partnership,” a capacity-building retreat co-sponsored by The Ford Foundation and The Puerto Rico Community Foundation (January)
1994Enterprise Research Advisory Committee, The Enterprise Foundation
1992Applied Research Project Advisory Committee, National Congress for Community Economic Development
1990-1992Experts Advisory Panel, National Conference of State Legislatures, Community Development Project
1989-1994Advisory Panel, Ford Foundation Oral History Project
1976, 1983 & 1984Member, Regional/Urban Design Assistance Teams (R/UDAT) to Carlsbad,NM; Franklin, VA; Pinehurst, NC
PUBLICATIONS
Work in Progress
“Small-Scale Urban Developers and Landlords as Agents of Neighborhood Stabilization” (with Rayman Mohamed), for Wayne State University’s Research Enhancement Program for Urban Research ($19,000)
Out of the Silos: Developing Healthy Communities (with Lawrence D. Brown and M. Katherine Kraft). Report to the Ford Foundation, October 2007. Under revisionfor submission toCommunity Development: the Journal of the Community Development Society.
“The Contribution of CommunityBuilding to Achieving Community Development Outcomes.” Report submitted to the Aspen Roundtable on Comprehensive Community Initiatives, under revision for electronic publication by the Roundtable.
Books, Chapters, and Articles
“Housing and Community Development,” in Lester Salamon, Ed., The State of the Nonprofit Sector, 2nd edition, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC, (in press).
“Clinton Urban Policy.” Prepared for the Encyclopedia of Urban History. Routledge Press, London, 2006.
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Beyond Housing: Growing Community Development Support Systems (with Langley Keyes). Urban Institute, Washington, D.C. (2005).
“James Rouse,” in RogerCaves, Ed., Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge Press, London (2004).
“Community Development: Current Issues and Emerging Challenges” (with W. Dennis Keating). Journal of Urban Affairs, Special issue, “New Perspectives in Community Development” co-guest edited with W. Dennis Keating, Vol. 26, No. 2, 2004.
“Building Social Capital to Promote Community Equity,” in “Using Social Capital to Help Integrate Planning Theory, Research, and Practice. A symposium guest-edited with Judy Hutchinson for Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 70, No. 2, Spring 2004.
“Housing and Community Development.” In Salamon, Lester (Ed.) The State of the Nonprofit Sector. The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. (2002).
“Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen: The Role of Congregations in Community Development.” In Dionne, E.J. (Ed.) Sacred Places, Civic Purposes. The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., 2001.
Building Community Capacity (with Rob Chaskin, Prudence Brown, and Sudhir Venkatesh). Aldine de Gruyter, Amsterdam, 2001.
Review of Ronald Ferguson and William Dickens, Urban Problems and Community Development. Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., 1998). In Journal of American Planning Association.
Community Organizing: Building Social Capital as a Development Strategy (with Ross Gittell). Sage Publications, Inc., Twelve Oaks, CA, 1998.
“Sustained Excellence Awards: Profiles of the Awardees.” Fannie Mae Foundation, Washington, D.C.,1998.
“Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Impact of Federal and State Policy Changes on Housing in New York City” (with Alex Schwartz). In Housing and Community Development In New York City: Facing the Future, Michael Schill, ed.StateUniversity of New York Press, Albany, NY, 1998.
“The Status of Nonprofit Owned Affordable Housing: Short-Term Successes and Long-Term Challenges” (with Rachel Bratt, Alex Schwartz, Langley Keyes, and James Stockard). Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 64, No. 1, 1998.
“Can Community Development Reinvent Itself: The Challenges of Strengthening Neighborhoods in the 21st Century.”Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 63, No. 4, 1997.
“Nonprofit Housing Organizations and The Institutional Support System: The Management Challenge” (with Alex Schwartz, Rachel Bratt, and Langley Keyes). Journal of Urban Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 4, 1996.
“CDCs as Agents of Neighborhood Change: The State of the Art.” In Dennis Keating, Norman Krumholz, and Phil Star (eds), Revitalizing Urban Neighborhoods. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KA, 1996.
“Foreword” in Willem van Vliet (ed.) Affordable Housing and Urban Development in the U.S.: Learning from Failure and Success Sage Publications, Inc., 1996.
“Networks and Nonprofits: Opportunities and Challenges in an Era of Federal Devolution” (with Langley Keyes, Alex Schwartz, and Rachel Bratt). Housing Policy Debate, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996.
“Are We Making This Harder Than It Needs to Be? A Response to ‘Core Issues in Evaluation’ by Prudence Brown.” In Rebecca Stone (ed.), Core Issues in Comprehensive Community-Building Initiatives, Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, Chicago, January 1996.
"Corporate Participation in Community Development: Lessons From an Evaluation of Local Initiatives Support Corporation" (with Arnold M. Howitt and Kathleen P. Foster). In Richard F. America (ed.), Philanthropy and Economic Development, Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc, Westport CN, 1995.
“Reintegrating Disadvantaged Communities into the Fabric of Urban Life: The Role of Community Development,”Housing Policy Debate, Vol.6 Issue 1, 1995.
Review of Federal Policymaking and the Poor, Michael J. Rich. Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 61, No. 1, Winter 1995.
Confronting the Management Challenge: Affordable Housing in the Nonprofit Sector (with Rachel G. Bratt, Langley C. Keyes and Alex Schwartz). CommunityDevelopmentResearchCenter, New School for Social Research, 1994.
Rebuilding Communities: A National Study of Urban Community Development Corporations.
CommunityDevelopmentResearchCenter, New School for Social Research, 1993.
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"A Community-Based Approach to Affordable Housing," Commentator. New School for Social Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, November 1990.
Review of Puerto Ricans: Born in the U.S.A., Clara E. Rodriguez. The New York Times,
Section VII, p.22, February 11, 1990.
"Community Development Corporations: A National Perspective" (with Bob Komives),National Civic Review. Vol. 78, No. 3, May-June 1989.
Review of Economic Prospects for the Northeast, Harry W. Richardson and Joseph H. Turek, eds. andFugitive Industry: The Economics and Politics of Deindustrialization, Richard B. McKenzie. Journal of American Planning Association, Winter 1987.
“Restructuring and Growth Transitions of Metropolitan Economies: The Context for Economic Development Policy” (with Robyn S. Phillips), in Edward M. Bergman, ed., Local Economies in Transition: Policy Realities and Development Potentials. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1986.
"The Growth and Restructuring of Metropolitan Economies: The Context for Economic Development Policy" (with Robyn Swaim Phillips), Journal of the American Planning Association, Summer 1983.
Review of Housing Vouchers for the Poor: Lessons from a National Experiment, Raymond J Struyk and Marc Bendick, eds. Journal of the American Planning Association, Spring 1982.
Racial Differences in Search Behavior in an Urban Housing Market. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, HarvardUniversity, 1982.
"Housing Search Barrier for Low-Income Renters" (with Glen Weisbrod), Urban Affairs Quarterly. Vol. 16, No. 4, June 1981.
Research Reports
Out of the Silos: Developing Healthy Communities (with Lawrence D. Brown and M. Katherine Kraft). Report to the Ford Foundation, October 2007.
Interim Assessment of the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) Program: A Progress Report. Final Report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2002. With Scott Hebert, Greg Mills, Franklin James and others.
Lessons from the CommunityOutreachPartnershipCenter Program(with Nancy Nye, Christopher Walker, Carlos Manjarrez, and Clare Romanik). Final Report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2001.
Faith-Based Organizations in Community Development. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 2001.
Faith-Based Organizations in Community Development. Final Urban Institute Report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, August 1999.
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“The Relationship Between Housing and Community: A Review of the Evidence from the United States.” Working Paper prepared for the Fannie Mae Foundation Tri-Country Conference on Housing and Urban Issues, 1998.
Community Organizing as a Community Development Strategy: Lessons from a National Demonstration Program (with Ross Gittell). CommunityDevelopmentResearchCenter, New School for Social Research, 1997.
Stimulating Community Development in Enterprise Zones: Lessons from Indiana (with Ross Gittell and Margaret Wilder). CommunityDevelopmentResearchCenter, New School for Social Research, 1997.
“CapacityBuilding in Non-Profit Organizations” in Evaluation of the HOPE 3 Program: Final Report, Abt Associates, Inc., CambridgeMA, 1995.