I have three sets of often overlapping research and teaching interests that stem from my training in economic and urban geography, but also my interests in economic and urban sociology. These three overlapping interests (economic and urban geography, migration and immigration, and political economy and social theory) are complemented by specific regional interests.
1) Economic and urban geography:
- I am interested (at least from the point of view of teaching) in most issues concerning economic globalization, including production, consumption, energy, trade, and finance,
- In terms of research, I am interested in alternative forms of economic development (often called 'diverse economies');
- International finance, including the governance of Islamic banking and finance in the US and the UK;
- Labor markets and employment in cities, including informal employment, and unemployment
- Urbanization and urban development, including critical approaches to urban-economic development, gentrification and the 'reconquest' of cities, infrastructure challenges, 'immigrant' and 'ethnic economies' (see also point 2 below), and related planning issues. I am particularly interested in comparing urban development, especially between the US and European urban areas
2) Immigration and migration:
- The political-economic, urban, and socio-theoretical dimensions of migration/immigration, including but not limited to the labor market integration of young people of immigrant origin, the political economy and political geography of immigration, undocumented immigration and informal employment/economies, and 'illegality'
3) Theoretical political economy and social theory
- I have written mainly about theoretical issues in political economy, but I am also an avid reader of social theory that ranges from historical materialism to post-structuralist and other so-called 'continental' thinkers. I am especially interested in how these ideas relate to changes in the global economy, as well as issues of urbanization/urbanism
Geographic regions
- Most of my research has been conducted in the context of the European Union, and especially France, but I have also conducted some research in the urban midwest in the United States (especially in Chicago and the wider Detroit area). Nonetheless, I remain most interested in the urban and economic fortunes of northeastern US cities (New York, Boston, etc.).