Faculty & Staff

Dr. Brady Collins
MPA Director and Associate Professor of Political Science

Office Phone: 909-869-3573
Email: bjcollins@cpp.edu
Office Location: 94-374
Office Hours: TuTh 1:00-3:00pm
Full CV

Academic Area

Public Policy, Urban Politics

Areas of Expertise

Community development, social capital, neighborhood politics, urban governance, civic engagement, qualitative methods

Research Statement

Brady Collins received his Ph.D in Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MA in Political Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Having spent several years as a policy advocate in the housing and labor movement in Los Angeles, much of his teaching and research is focused on Los Angeles, though he has also studied neighborhoods in Barcelona, Tokyo, and Shanghai. His areas of expertise are in community and economic development, civic engagement, ethnic enclaves, urban governance, and social capital. More generally, Brady’s research lies at the intersection of the spatial, sociocultural, and political aspects of urbanism, and seeks to forge new relationships between the built environment and local politics. He teaches courses on public administration, public policy, qualitative methods, and urban governance in Los Angeles.

Academic Degrees

PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, 2016
MA, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2011
BA, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2009

Current Courses

SPRING 2024

MPA 6950: PROJECT

Graduate project integrating theories and methodologies; focus on practical concerns and issues of public and nonpublic agencies, diverse perspectives within a task-oriented framework. Memorandum of understanding (MOU) with participating agency required. Faculty and practitioner supervision. Specialized activity. May be taken up to two times for a total credit of 6 units.

PLS 3165: URBAN ADMINISTRATION, POLITICS, AND POLICY

Examines urban development and politics; addresses basic concepts of institutions, procedures and politics; discusses policy issues of urban sprawl, transportation, and public schools; and debates on reforms of urban governance. The changing approaches to governance, administration and policies are explored.

Publications

Collins, B. & Doroteo, N. (2024) Skeptics, progressives, and adoptees: The constituencies of public transit and their perceptions of place along the Los Angeles Purple Line, Journal of Urban Affairs, DOI: 10.1080/07352166.2024.2317230

Collins, B. & Medrano, A. (2022). From parochial to policy advocate: Examining policy advocacy among neighborhood councils in Los Angeles, Cities, Volume 130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.103882.

Collins, B. (2021). “Place Branding and Its Discontents: The Politics and Management of Neighborhood Governance Systems”, Planning Education and Research. (Link)

Collins, B. (2020) “Cultural Hybridities in the Multiethnic Enclave: Generational Perspectives on Neighborhood Identity in Wilshire Center, Los Angeles”, in Derr, V. & Corona, Y. (eds.) Routledge Press. (Link)

Collins, B. & Del Rey, D.K. (2020). “Participatory Urban Governance Under the Microscope: A Qualitative Study of High-Functioning Neighborhood Councils in Los Angeles”, Journal of Urban Affairs. (Link)

Collins, B. & Nyenhuis, R. (2020). “The Effectiveness of Concept Maps for Students’ Learning and Retention”, Journal of Political Science Education. (Link)

Collins, B. 2019 "The View From the Salad Bowl: Community Place Attachment in Multiethnic Los Angeles." Cities, 94: 256-274. (Link)

Collins, B. 2018. “Putting Culture On The Map: Media Discourse and the Urban Growth Machine in Koreatown, Los Angeles.” Urban Affairs Review. (Link)

Collins, B. 2018. “Whose Culture? Whose Neighborhood? Fostering and Resisting Neighborhood Change in the Multiethnic Enclave.” Journal of Planning Education and Research. (Link)

Collins, B., and A. Loukaitou-Sideris. 2016. “Skid Row, Gallery Row, and the Space in-Between: Neighborhood Revitalization in Two Los Angeles Neighborhoods.” Town Planning Review, 87(4): 401-427. (Link)