James Fraser Email and Phone Number

Dr. James Fraser, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Virginia State University with specialty areas in urban and environmental studies: housing, neighborhoods/settlements, urban development, community development, environmental risks/hazards (flooding, drought, non-point source pollution), and human dimensions of environmental change. Before joining Virginia State, Fraser held faculty appointments in multiple disciplines, including public policy (Duke University), American Studies/Community Development/Institute of Energy and the Environment (Vanderbilt University), Geography/Center for Urban and Regional Studies (University of North Carolina), and Social Justice (Fisk University). In addition, he served as a founding director of the Center for Applied Social Research.In addition, Dr. Fraser is a consultant who serves as a research principal on projects for public, nonprofit/philanthropic, and private-sector clients. His research publications and reports have been employed to inform program and policy development, for example, in testimony to the United States Congress on housing and urban development and in rule-making for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. His most recent research with economist David Schwartz (Principal, SGS Economics and Planning) and Dr. Deirdre Oakley (Professor of Sociology, Georgia State University) for a national housing non-profit examines factors that shape the health and socioeconomic mobility of Housing Choice Voucher recipients. Their report, Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Making Mixed-Income Neighborhoods Work For Low-Income Households (2024), provides evidence of the positive effects of enhanced community impact services and guaranteed minimum income on multiple dimensions of voucher recipient wellness.Fraser, Schwartz, and Oakley are partnering with the Cultural Equity Lab (a minority-led 501(c)(3) headquartered in Beltsville, Maryland) to conduct a housing and economic development demonstration program targeting low- and moderate-income populations. This work is a component of a broader project to leverage Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as agents of change for creating a more equitable society. In building the capacity of these institutions to access a larger share of research and programmatic funding made available through federal programs and other institutions, the objective is for HBCUs to be hubs of research excellence for co-creating local solutions specific to local community needs.