COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCHER


Emily Barrett headshot


Hi there, I'm Emily Barrett. I am a community-engaged researcher, geographer, and housing justice advocate. I'm currently pursuing my PhD at Vanderbilt University.

My research broadly speaking intersects community-engaged geographic information systems (GIS), economic geography, and urban studies. I've previously studied the racial dynamics of data-driven and participatory urban planning processes. My current research examines racial and spatial inequities in U.S. cities, especially focused on municipal budgets as sites of debate and intervention for social justice organizing.

I am originally from Manchester, England, though you might not tell from my accent. I like crossfit and love to travel to try new food and climb mountains.

Contact me: emily.barrett@vanderbilt.edu | Github: ebarre01

ONGOING RESEARCH

Two questions animate my research agenda: 1) how and why are racial and spatial inequities in U.S. cities sustained and reproduced in the 21st century, and 2) what are the possibilities and limitations of alternative community-based urban and economic imaginaries? Across my research, I strategically employ geospatial technologies (including GIS, web mapping, and geo-programming) alongside critical social theories to elucidate the root causes of inequality and advance community organizing efforts.

    DATA & PARTICIPATION
    How and why are data-driven and participatory processes used to make and justify contentious urban planning decisions? My research shows that this question matters because our expectations for what data and participation do for urban planning has important implications for how we understand and solve urban problems, and their racial inequities.

    map by author
    PEOPLE'S BUDGETS & PUBLIC GOODS
    My dissertation explores the racial and spatial inequities of public goods in U.S. cities through an archival, geospatial, and ethnographic study of municipal budgeting in Nashville, Tennessee. Inspired by nationwide calls for people's budgets, I demonstrate not only why cities struggle to afford public goods, but also why the kinds of public goods minority and poor neighborhoods desire (like quality housing, transit, and schools) seem perpetually unaffordable.
    housing
    PUBLIC LAND & HOUSING
    As housing increasingly becomes a key contemporary issue, developing housing on public land is being positioned as a solution to the root causes of inequality in housing markets. What are the possibilities of these experiments for redressing inequality and creating community-controlled public goods, especially those that prioritize individual needs and collective well-being over economic gains?
    public land map

PUBLICATIONS

ARTICLES

Barrett,Emily, and Sara Safransky. 2024. “Reimagining the municipal economy: The emancipatory politics of the people's budget movement”. Urban Studies. [access here]

Barrett,Emily, and Sara Safransky. 2023. “Towards people’s budgets: Public economic geography for movement building”. Professional Geographer. [access here]

Barrett,Emily. 2023. “Unseeing racism: Naming whiteness at the intersections of regimes of data and participation”. Planning Theory & Practice. [access here]

Barrett,Emily, and Amber J. Bosse. 2022. “Community geography for precarious researchers: Examining the intricacies of mutually beneficial and co-produced knowledge”. GeoJournal. [access here]

Barrett,Emily, and Matthew W. Wilson. 2019. “Mapshop: Learning to map, mapping to learn.” Living Maps Review. [access here]

SELECT PAPER PRESENTATIONS

2023 | “Contesting urban financialization: Organizing for community benefits and the rights of displaced tenants in Nashville, TN”. Urban Affairs.
2023 | “Critical Budget Studies: Understanding People’s Budgets through care and abolition.” Accounting for Space mini conference.
2023 | “Code enforcement as policing”. American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting.

WORKSHOPS

2023 | Introduction to QGIS

[ DOWNLOAD MY FULL CV HERE ]

MAPS IN ACTION

Map making has come a long way since I first started learning cartography using Adobe Illustrator in 2014. Today, my mapping skills range from the more traditional softwares to advanced programming. Regardless of how I map, community-engagement is central to why I map. Shown below are some of my recent community-engaged mapping projects and their public facing outputs.


[My traditional skills include QGIS & ArcGIS | My programming skills include JavaScript & Python]

New Orleans

Evictions & public housing

Explore the relationships between public housing and evictions from 2001-2016.

Community partner: Metro Nashville's Affordable Housing Committee. See our report and presentation on proposed Right to Counsel legislation here.

Made with JavaScript and Leaflet.

Metro Nashville

Affordable housing

Examine indicators influencing the affordable housing crisis in Metro Nashville, including rent burden, evictions, and expiring affordable housing subsidies.

Community partner: StandUp Nashville & East Bank Working group. See news reporting on our work here.

Made with CARTO.

Code violations

Public land & transit opportunities

Imagine potential housing development opportunities using public land along major transit corridors in Nashville.

Community partner: StandUp Nashville. See our policy efforts here.

Made with ArcGIS Online.