Robert Mark Silverman

Associate Professor
Research Professor, Center for Urban Studies

office : 201K Hayes Hall
phone : 716.829.2133 ext 227
e-mail : rms35@buffalo.edu

Education

B.S. (political science), Arizona State University
M.P.A. (public administration), Arizona State University
Ph.D. (urban studies), University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Courses

Dr. Silverman's primary teaching interests are in the area of community development. In the past, he has taught courses in: community development planning, public finance, economic development, citizen participation, and housing policy. In addition to teaching in these areas, he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on both quantitative and qualitative research methods including Community Development Processes and Nonprofit Management.

Research

Dr. Silverman's research focuses on the organization and structure of urban institutions, the role of community-based organizations in urban neighborhoods, and inequality in inner city housing markets. His current research projects include citizen participation and fair housing. He is also a guest editor for a special issue on “Public Participation in Community-Based Organizations and Local Government" for Community Development: Journal of the Community Development Society.

Public service

Dr. Silverman is engaged in public service focusing in community development in Buffalo 's inner city. Through the Center for Urban Studies and the East Side Neighborhood Transformation Partnership (ESNTP), a HUD-funded community outreach partnership center, he works on a number of projects aimed at revitalizing urban neighborhoods and empowering residents.

Selected publications

  • "The Influence of Nonprofit Networks on Local Affordable Housing Funding: Findings from a National Survey of Local Public Administrators," Urban Affairs Review. (forthcoming)
  • “Sandwiched Between Patronage and Bureaucracy: The Plight of Citizen Participation in Community-Based Housing Organizations (CBHOs),” Urban Studies. (forthcoming)
  • “Is the Community Development Industry System Stalled?: Results from a National Survey of Local Public Administrators,” National Civic Review. (forthcoming)
  •  “The Role of Citizen Participation and Action Research Principles in Main Street Revitalization: An Analysis of a Local Planning Project,” (with Henry L. Taylor, Jr. and Christopher G. Crawford) Action Research, 6.1: 69-93, 2008.
  • “Building a Better Neighborhood Housing Partnership.” (with Kelly L. Patterson) Housing and Society. (forthcoming)
  • "Mortgage Lending Disparities in Metropolitan Buffalo: Implications for Community Reinvestment Policy," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy. (forthcoming)
  • "Central City Socio-Economic Characteristics and Public Participation Strategies: A Comparative Analysis of the Niagara Region's Municipalities in the US and Canada," International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 28, No. 3/4, 138-153, 2006.
  • "Caught in the Middle: Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and the Conflict Between Grassroots and Instrumental Forms of Citizen Participation," Community Development: Journal of the Community Development Society, Vol. 36, No. 2, 35-51, 2005.
  • "Community Socioeconomic Status and Disparities in Mortgage Lending: An Analysis of Metropolitan Detroit." The Social Science Journal, 2005.
  • "Redlining in a Majority Black City?: Mortgage Lending and the Racial Composition of Detroit Neighborhoods," The Western Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 29, No. 1, 531-541, 2005.
  • Community-Based Organizations: The Intersection of Social Capital and Local Context in Contemporary Urban Society. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ed. 2004.

Selected activities, honors, awards

Moderator for the Cyberhood (www.thecyberhood.net); 61st Edition of Who's Who in America, 2007, Outstanding Graduate, 1992 , Arizona State University, College of Public Programs.