Xavier de Souza Briggs
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- Scholar Link:Xavier de Souza Briggs at the Brookings Institution
The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific and religious freedom have always been in the minority… It will take such a small committed minority to work unrelentingly to win the uncommitted majority. Such a group may transform America’s greatest dilemma into her most glorious opportunity.
Background
Xavier de Souza Briggs is an assistant professor of public policy at Harvard University. He holds a BS in engineering resources and development from Stanford University, an MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a PhD in sociology and education from Columbia University.
Interests
Briggs’ research focuses on regional economic growth and inequality; environmental sustainability, risk and resilience; race/ethnicity and immigration; and democratic governance, problem solving and innovation. He has won several national awards, including the 2000 Best Article of the Year from the Journal of the American Planning Association for “In the Wake of Desegregation” and the American Planning Association President’s Award for community development work in the South Bronx.
In addition to his work as a South Bronx community planner, Briggs has worked as research associate at Columbia University’s Teachers College and at the Community Development Research Center in the School of Management and Urban Policy at the New School for Social Research. Other professional experiences include serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, as faculty affiliate at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC, and as associate director of General Government Programs in the Office and Management and Budget at the White House, where he oversaw a wide array of policy, budget and management issues for roughly half of the cabinet agencies of the federal government.
News Items
MLK Visiting Professor, Scholar named; 4 continue as MLK profs
Koffi Maglo and Patricia Powell join the cohort of MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars.
4 new MLK Visiting Professors named
The MLK Visiting Professors include two mathematicians, a material scientist and an urbanologist.
Sample Work
Publication
Social Capital: Easy Beauty or Meaningful Resource?
Briggs, X. de Souza. “Social Capital: Easy Beauty or Meaningful Resource?” In Special Colloquium on Social Capital and Planning, edited by Judy Hutchinson and Avis C. Vidal. Journal of the American Planning Association 70(2):151-158.
Publication
Civilization in Color: The Multi-Cultural City in Three Millennia
Briggs, Xavier de Souza. “Civilization in Color: The Multi-Cultural City in Three Millennia.” City & Community 3(4):311-342. Nominated for Best Article of the Year in Urban and Community Sociology, American Sociological Association.
Publication
Re-shaping the Geography of Opportunity: Place Effects in Global Perspective
Briggs, X. de Souza. “Re-shaping the Geography of Opportunity: Place Effects in Global Perspective.” Housing Studies 18(6):915-936.
Publication
Housing Opportunity, Desegregation Strategy, and Policy Research
Briggs, X. de Souza. “Housing Opportunity, Desegregation Strategy, and Policy Research.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 22(2):201-206.