He earned an MA in Sociology and a Ph.D. in Sociology & Management from Northwestern University. His research interests include the role of commercial finance in metropolitan development, the causes and consequences of residential segregation, the role of neighborhoods in race relations, and the effects of residential mobility on place-based inequality. His research has been published in Urban Studies, City & Community, the Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Forces, and Social Science & Medicine, among other peer-reviewed journals.