He received his Ph.D. from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. His general research interests are urban poverty and comprehensive community development. His current research focuses on mixed-income development as a strategy for addressing urban poverty, with particular attention to transforming public housing developments. He has conducted and supported research and evaluation of mixed-income developments in Akron, Chicago, and San Francisco and in the first five Choice Neighborhood Initiative sites. In addition to Cityscape, he serves on the editorial boards of Housing Policy Debate and Housing Studies.