Associate Professor
Department of Geography & Environment
Curriculum in Global Studies
224 Carolina Hall, CB 3220
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
919-962-3916
NinaM@email.unc.edu
Education
PhD University of Illinois at Chicago (2008)
MSc London School of Economics (2000)
BA McGill University (1999)
Courses taught at UNC:
Graduate Seminar in Advanced Urban Geography (Geography 803)
Urban Geography (Geography 228)
Global Cities: Power, Politics, and Planning (Geography 428)
Urban Political Geography: Durham, NC (Geography 429)
Global Issues in the 21st Century (Global Studies 210)
Summary of Research and Teaching
My goal is to connect the theoretical work of geography with the urban planning and policy tools that can make cities places of possibility for all people. My research areas include urban politics, economic and community development, immigration and local political conflicts, restructuring of urban labor markets, the management of nonprofit organizations, and the racialization of urban space. I use mixed methods to explore the processes and outcomes of emerging urban social issues and aim to conduct engaged research that can speak to multiple audiences, including academics, policy makers, planners, and the research subjects themselves.
My work has been published in academic journals, including International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Journal of Urban Affairs, Antipode, Environment and Planning A, Mobilities, Urban Geography, and American Behavioral Scientist. My current research is for a book project: Pretentious Urbanism: How Progressive Cities Recreate Inequities. I draw on literatures in critical and feminist geographies, development studies, and ethnic studies to build a theoretical framework for interpreting urban policy and planning.
I teach classes in urban geography and globalization, and aim to instill in my students an appreciation of the diversity and complexity that characterizes cities around the world.
I am the Director of Research Curricula in the Office of Undergraduate Research. In this role, I support undergraduate students and faculty at Carolina in pursuing their academic research goals.
I am privileged to serve on the Durham Workers’ Rights Commission, which advocates for the interests of working people to the Durham City Council. https://www.durhamnc.gov/238/Boards-Committees-Commissions-Task-Force
Biography
I was born in Dublin and as a child my family migrated to Canada and I grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, an economically depressed region of Canada at the time. I left Halifax to pursue my education in Montreal, London, and Chicago, where I became fascinated with how migrants make a place for themselves in these sprawling metropolises. My life history, combined with my experiences in these cities, motivated me to study the impacts of migration on labor markets, community and civil society responses to urban political conflicts, the informal economy in U.S. cities, and the transnational lives of migrants.
In my free time, I try to be funny. Results are mixed. You can find me writing and performing sketch comedy with Black Sheep Comedy in Carrboro and Mettlesome Theater in Durham. And, yes, I was in a band in high school.