Kelly Patterson
Associate Professor
"Residential segregation relegates the poor and minorities to the most disadvantaged neighborhoods. This means they have unequal access to valuable resources such as housing and education. I believe everyone has the right to access decent affordable housing in neighborhoods that afford them opportunities for social and economic mobility."
Education
- PhD, Urban Studies, University at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2002)
- MS, Public Affairs, University at Buffalo (1995)
- BA, Sociology, North Carolina Central University (1990)
Professional/Research Interests
Housing policy; fair housing advocacy; subsidized housing; residential segregation and poverty; spatial issues and social service access/delivery; community-based housing organizations
Biography
Associate Professor Kelly Patterson received her PhD in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2002 subsequent to joining the UB Department of Urban and Regional Planning in 2003. She came to the School of Social Work in 2008, teaching and researching social welfare history and policy, community social work, advanced policy and housing policy. Patterson is particularly cognizant of the intersection of poverty and inequality, as well as of race and class. Her research “highlights how neighborhood outcomes affect quality of life,” citing the housing market as a clear demonstration of “racial and class segregation [relegating] the poor and minorities to the most disadvantaged neighborhoods” with lower quality schools, services and food and higher exposure to crime.
Patterson’s current research projects include “Sustainable Affordable Housing in Shrinking US Cities: Developing an Analytic Tool for Siting Subsidized Housing,” funded by a HUD Sustainable Communities Research Grant, and “Neighborhood Outcomes of Formally Homeless Veterans Participating in the HUD-VASH Program.” She is also working on “Examining the Feasibility for Intervening with Chronically Homeless Women and Identifying Possible Factors that Influence Participation.”
Among other accolades, Patterson received the 2012 Emerald Literati Network Highly Commended Article Award from the International Journal of Public Sector Management and an Outstanding Program Award from the Community Development Society for the University at Buffalo East Side Neighborhood Transformation Partnership in 2008. She is a member of the Urban Affairs Association, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Society for Social Work and Research and Community Development Society.