Shelley Kimelberg is an urban sociologist who conducts research in the areas of urban education, economic development, and inequality. Her scholarship to date has focused on how actors’ subjective perceptions and individual decisions influence broader processes of urban change. Kimelberg’s most recent project explores how parents of young children negotiate the school selection process in Boston. Her interviews with a group of white middle- and upper middle-class parents who have embraced urban public schools complicates the well-known narrative of flight from declining urban institutions, and highlights the need to better understand the motivations of this small, but vocal and powerful, set of actors. Kimelberg’s work has appeared in City & Community, Sociological Forum, Urban Education, and Economic Development Quarterly, among other journals. She was elected Chair of SSSP’s Community Research and Development division (2011-2013), and serves on the Editorial Board for Sociological Forum.
Areas of Research/Interest:
• Urban Sociology
• Poverty
• Economic Development
• Social Policy
Selected Publications
Forth. Kimelberg, Shelley M. “’What Really Could Go Wrong in Kindergarten?’: Middle-class Parents, Risk, and Urban Public Schools.” In A. Lareau and K. Goyette (eds.), Choosing Homes, Choosing Schools. New York: Russell Sage. (Due in Spring 2014).
2013 Billingham, Chase & Kimelberg, Shelley M. “Middle-Class Parents, Urban Schooling, and the Shift from Consumption to Production of Urban Space.” Sociological Forum, 28(1): 85-108.
2013 Kimelberg, Shelley M. & Williams, Elizabeth. “Evaluating the Importance of Business Location Factors: The Influence of Facility Type.” Growth & Change 44(1): 92-117.
2013 Kimelberg, Shelley M. & Billingham, Chase. “Attitudes toward Diversity and the School Choice Process: Middle-Class Parents in a Segregated Urban Public School District.” Urban Education 48(2): 198-231.
2012 Kimelberg, Shelley M. & Nicoll, Lauren A. “Business Location Decisions in the Medical Device Industry: Evidence from Massachusetts.” Economic Development Quarterly, 26(1): 34-49.
2011 Kimelberg, Shelley M. “Inside the Growth Machine: Real Estate Professionals on the Perceived Challenges of Urban Development.” City & Community, 10(1): 76-99.
2010 Kimelberg, Shelley M. “Can We Seal the Deal?: An Examination of Uncertainty in the Development Process.” Economic Development Quarterly, 24(1): 87-96.
Selected Funding and Awards
2012 College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Research Development Program: Diversity in the Classroom: Measuring the Racial Preferences of Urban Parents.
2012 College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Collaborative Research Cluster: Access, Choice, and Involvement in Urban Public Schools: A Networked Perspective. Cluster PI.
2011 Outstanding Graduate Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Professional Affiliations and Associations
American Sociological Association (Community & Urban; Sociology of Education Inequality, Poverty & Mobility)
Society for the Study of Social Problems (Chair, Community Research & Development)
Urban Affairs Association
Eastern Sociological Society
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI)
Northeastern University Affiliations
Senior Research Associate, Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
Courses Taught Graduate:
SOCL 7264 Urban Poverty: The Ethnographic Perspective
SocAnt on Facebook
Shelley McDonough Kimelberg
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., Harvard University
Phone: 617-373-3856
Office: 535 Holmes Hall
Email: s.kimelberg@neu.edu
CV: Download as PDF
Shelley Kimelberg is an urban sociologist who conducts research in the areas of urban education, economic development, and inequality. Her scholarship to date has focused on how actors’ subjective perceptions and individual decisions influence broader processes of urban change. Kimelberg’s most recent project explores how parents of young children negotiate the school selection process in Boston. Her interviews with a group of white middle- and upper middle-class parents who have embraced urban public schools complicates the well-known narrative of flight from declining urban institutions, and highlights the need to better understand the motivations of this small, but vocal and powerful, set of actors. Kimelberg’s work has appeared in City & Community, Sociological Forum, Urban Education, and Economic Development Quarterly, among other journals. She was elected Chair of SSSP’s Community Research and Development division (2011-2013), and serves on the Editorial Board for Sociological Forum.
Areas of Research/Interest:
• Urban Sociology
• Poverty
• Economic Development
• Social Policy
Selected Publications
Forth. Kimelberg, Shelley M. “’What Really Could Go Wrong in Kindergarten?’: Middle-class Parents, Risk, and Urban Public Schools.” In A. Lareau and K. Goyette (eds.), Choosing Homes, Choosing Schools. New York: Russell Sage. (Due in Spring 2014).
2013 Billingham, Chase & Kimelberg, Shelley M. “Middle-Class Parents, Urban Schooling, and the Shift from Consumption to Production of Urban Space.” Sociological Forum, 28(1): 85-108.
2013 Kimelberg, Shelley M. & Williams, Elizabeth. “Evaluating the Importance of Business Location Factors: The Influence of Facility Type.” Growth & Change 44(1): 92-117.
2013 Kimelberg, Shelley M. & Billingham, Chase. “Attitudes toward Diversity and the School Choice Process: Middle-Class Parents in a Segregated Urban Public School District.” Urban Education 48(2): 198-231.
2012 Kimelberg, Shelley M. & Nicoll, Lauren A. “Business Location Decisions in the Medical Device Industry: Evidence from Massachusetts.” Economic Development Quarterly, 26(1): 34-49.
2011 Kimelberg, Shelley M. “Inside the Growth Machine: Real Estate Professionals on the Perceived Challenges of Urban Development.” City & Community, 10(1): 76-99.
2010 Kimelberg, Shelley M. “Can We Seal the Deal?: An Examination of Uncertainty in the Development Process.” Economic Development Quarterly, 24(1): 87-96.
Selected Funding and Awards
2012 College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Research Development Program: Diversity in the Classroom: Measuring the Racial Preferences of Urban Parents.
2012 College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Collaborative Research Cluster: Access, Choice, and Involvement in Urban Public Schools: A Networked Perspective. Cluster PI.
2011 Outstanding Graduate Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Professional Affiliations and Associations
Northeastern University Affiliations
Senior Research Associate, Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
Courses Taught Graduate:
Courses Taught Undergraduate: