Ariel H. Bierbaum

My cross-disciplinary research sits at the nexus of urban studies, planning, and public education. I ask questions about how public schools and planning at the neighborhood, city, and regional levels interact and contribute to the perpetuation of inequality. I also identify potential pathways for these systems to promote justice for historically marginalized and minoritized communities. I use qualitative methods and draw from interdisciplinary scholarship in planning, community development, policy studies, sociology, and geography to consider how the social and physical dimensions of schools and neighborhoods shape structures of metropolitan inequality and lived experiences, especially for young people. 

I bring over 25 years of experience in the non-profit, public, and higher education sectors, working in public policy, cross-sector collaboration, community development, and community arts. I earned my PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of California-Berkeley, a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Arts in urban studies from the University of Pennsylvania. I am originally from New Jersey and grew up in Free Acres, a utopian community founded in 1910 based on the principles of Henry George. After 7 years in Philadelphia and 12 years in Oakland, CA, I now live in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland.

Affiliations:

• Affiliate Faculty, National Center for Smart Growth
• Affiliate Faculty, Maryland Transportation Institute
• Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership
• Member, Public Schools and Communities Division, American Planning Association