James C. Fraser, Ph.D. · Virginia State University

Research for more just cities.

Urban and environmental scholar, and principal of Azurest Associates — bringing peer-reviewed research, federal testimony, and funded studies to the cities, agencies, and communities that need them.

Explore the work Curriculum vitae
70+
Publications
$12M+
Funded research
3
Journal editorial boards
U.S. House
Invited testimony
The Work

Four through-lines of a career.

Three decades of inquiry into how cities decide who belongs — and what it takes to build them more justly. Selected works below; the complete catalog lives in the Library.

01Urban

The engineering of exclusion

Gentrification, the Over-the-Rhine People's Movement, and the right to claim the city.
2019After Gentrification — AntipodePDF 2004Beyond Gentrification — Urban GeographyPDF 2016Disrupting the Order of Things — CitiesPDF
02Environment

Living on the floodplain

FEMA buyouts, repetitive-loss properties, and community-based flood policy.
2017Historical Waterscape Trajectories — J. Political EcologyPDF 2011Repetitive Flood Victims — DisastersPDF 2006Creating Effective Flood Mitigation — Eos, AGUPDF
03Housing

Why affordable housing needs an income floor

The POAH / Over-the-Rhine study on mixed-income neighborhoods and mobility.
2024Thriving, Not Just Surviving — POAH ReportPDF 2016Housing Publics Lost in Transition — City & CommunityPDF 2013HOPE VI & the Production of Difference — Urban Affairs Rev.PDF
04On the Record

Stopping displacement in a booming city

From congressional testimony to inclusionary zoning — research that shapes policy.
2009Future of Public Housing — U.S. House testimonyRecord 2016Inclusionary Zoning Feasibility — Metro NashvillePDF 2014Equitable Development — Metro NashvillePDF
In Brief

Hear the work.

Short audio and video overviews of each research area, in Fraser's own words. Select a theme, then press play.

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Urban
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Current

Under review & in the pipeline.

The newest of the work — manuscripts in peer review and sponsored research in development.

Under review
Geographies of Refusal: Black Organizing and the Long Spatial Struggle in Nashville, 1850–2026
Under review
The Limits of Cash: Guaranteed Income and the Reproduction of the Precarious City
with D. Oakley
Under review
After Reparations Washing: Cities, Racial Capitalism, and the Spatial Politics of Repair
Under review
Enforcing the Unlivable: The Police Imaginary in the Carceral Geography of Homelessness
with T. Davis
Under review
Organizing for a New Social Horizon — Contagiously, Collectively, and the Production of Locality
with J.-P. Addie
Under review
Unsettling Property: Race, Precarity, and the Politics of Home at Fort Negley

Grant proposals

Funded · Active
Trojan Pathways: An AI-Integrated Faculty Toolkit for Individualized Student Learning
Virginia State University Fellows Program · PI · 2026–2027
Read the proposal →
Under review
Building Housing or Capitalizing Land? Richmond & Atlanta Opportunity Zones and TRACT
U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development, PD&R · PI · $1.5M · with D. Oakley, D. Yoo & T. Davis
Under review
Artificial Intelligence: Scaffolding or Substitution for Critical Thinking
Spencer Foundation · PI: D. Yoo · with D. Oakley & J. Fraser
Selected Writing

From the library.

A first taste — the full catalog of articles, books, reports, and op-eds lives in the Library.

UrbanBeyond Gentrification: Mobilizing Communities and Claiming SpaceUrban Geography, 2004Download PDF EnvironmentHistorical Waterscape Trajectories That Need CareJournal of Political Ecology, 2017Download PDF HousingThriving, Not Just Surviving: Making Mixed-Income Neighborhoods WorkPOAH Communities, 2024Download PDF UrbanTwentieth-Century Urban Renewal & Reparative PlanningThe Performative City, 2025Download PDF UrbanAfter Gentrification: Social Mix, Settler Colonialism, and Cruel OptimismAntipode, 2019Download PDF On the RecordCurriculum VitaeAppointments, publications, awards & serviceView the full CV
Applied Practice

Azurest Associates

A municipal, state, and federal consultancy I co-lead. Azurest partners with foundations, governments, and community-based organizations to design, finance, and evaluate the initiatives that improve cities — and the lives of the people who live in them.

Visit Azurest Associates →
Services
  • Urban research & policy evaluation
  • Program design & development
  • Housing & community development
  • Grant strategy & assessment
Connect

Get in touch.

For research collaborations, consulting through Azurest, speaking, or press.

@Email
jfraser@vsu.edu GSGoogle Scholar
Publications & citations inLinkedIn
Professional profile AAAzurest Associates
Consultancy