Professor Baldwin, a leading urbanist, historian and cultural critic, explores how universities shape urban life and how they can become partners in building fairer, more inclusive communities. He is the author of the influential book In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities, and as the Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies at Trinity College (Hartford, CT), he founded the Smart Cities Research Lab.
Can you share a little bit more about your academic background and expertise?
I completed my PhD in American studies. I drew a lot from the approach of the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies with people like Stuart Hall, but also French Situationist urban scholars, including Henri Lefebvre. My research was rooted in topics of working-class culture and material and political economy of everyday life. This inspired my first book Chicago's New Negroes: Modernity, the Great Migration, and Black Urban Life.
As my career progressed, I realised I needed to focus more on the urban element, which was already present in my prior research but had never been at the forefront. So I increasingly clarified my on to urban studies while still utilising my expertise and experience in cultural analysis and light ethnography to study urban experiences in places like Chicago, NYC, and Los Angeles.
The majority of academics in the U.S. come from academic families. I come from a different background. My mother was a factory worker. I found this experience pushed me to ask questions others did not. Through my work, I questioned the power dynamics of social institutions, including universities. While acknowledging their power as vehicles of innovation and progress, I also study them as sites of labour, land control and urban development.
Your work bridges urban history, cultural critique, sociology, and activism. Why do you think an interdisciplinary approach is important?
Life is not disciplinary. In American Studies, I received the inductive training to examine the experience or social phenomenon first. Following, I decide what framework serves best to extract meaning from that experience. This is different from the standard academic tradition in which you start with a method and apply it to reality.
At the same time, early academic models like dr. Cornel West and dr. Bell Hooks taught me the value of using academic work to enter and foster public debate. Taken together my work seeks to serve the communities I study. To do that successfully, a broad toolkit is an absolute must.
The Smart Cities Research Lab challenges conventional ideas of what makes a city ‘smart’. What made you decide to create the Lab, and what does it focus on?
The lab started as an academic project. During the writing of my book In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities, I gathered so much information that did not make the final cut. The lab was a way to keep that data available for all scholars.
In the year prior, George Floyd was murdered. Shortly after the publication of my book, a formerly incarcerated man of Philadelphia reached out to me and said ‘ You’re telling my story and we need your help’. I realised the lab needed to reach its scope beyond academics. Now it focuses on the people most affected by urban development; janitors, local residents, food service workers and not just policy blueprints or data dashboards.
We believe ‘smart’ should be defined by the needs and ambitions of people, not by exclusively technological infrastructure or sustainable design principles.
What kind of change or impact do you hope to make with your work?
I am happy the Lab is already successful in creating tangible impacts. In New Haven, Connecticut we teamed up with various local stakeholders, and pushed Yale University, which as a school is exempt from many forms of taxation, to donate $50 million to the city budget, when there was no legal requirement. This money can now be used for public services, including underfunded schools, which are actually accessible to the local community.
In Philadelphia, we helped local politicians think through strategies for placing affordable housing on university-led development sites.
But just as important is the intangible. We give people a language to understand their experiences and to advocate for themselves. Impact is more than money and policy. It is also about giving community members a voice. That kind of intellectual empowerment matters.
We believe ‘smart’ should be defined by the needs and ambitions of people, not by exclusively technological infrastructure or sustainable design principles.
What drew you to the work of the Centre for BOLD Cities, and how do you see it aligning with your mission?
Upon the first meeting, I immediately saw the alignment. Similar to my own approach, the Centre does not just do theoretical work. It is deeply embedded in the community, creating accessible visualisations, pamphlets and booklets. I noticed that people in the community were familiar with the centre. This connectivity matters. The people-centred approach of translating data into usable formats and tools made me feel like we were kindred spirits.
What have you noticed during your time in Rotterdam? Are there lessons the United States and the Netherlands could exchange?
Rotterdam reminds me of post-industrial American cities like Milwaukee or Chicago. They each try to reinvent themselves through luxury development or creative economies. But just like in the U.S., there’s a risk of repeating the same mistakes: high-stakes policing, gentrification disguised as “revitalising” neighbourhoods, and the neglect or displacement of the actual communities that live there.
Still, there are also inspiring models. From the community-led cooperatives, circular markets, and cultural centers in Rotterdam to the student-led Gaza encampments creating mini-universities, both countries can learn from these grassroots efforts. I remain inspired by places like the Afrikaanderwijk Coöperatie and the House of Urban Arts in Rotterdam Zuid. These are real alternatives to our current system. Their presence proves that another way is possible.
Have you read or listened to something recently, a book, podcast or article that you would recommend to others?
Yes, I recently participated in a Freedom School organised by Ananya Roy at UCLA’s Institute on Inequality and Democracy. It brought together community organisers and academics to explore housing justice, across the globe, with a learning focus on Los Angeles.
The result was an open-source collection called Insurgent Ground, which includes my co-authored piece ‘The Abolitionist University.’ It’s global, it’s radical, and it’s free. Definitely, worth checking out.