Dr. Amanda M. Huron, an award-winning scholar and mentor at UDC, explores the intersections of housing justice, urban commons, and DC history, leading transformative research on tenant organizing and ecological stewardship while empowering students through the DC History Research Lab.
Experience
Education
Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences/Geography, City University of New York Graduate Center Master of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies/Geography, Macalester College
Roles
Member, DC History Center University Advisory Group, 2022-Present Member, Advisory Board, DC Legacy Project, 2021-Present Member, American Association of Geographers, 2009-Present
Courses Taught
History of the District of Columbia D.C. Politics Mapping the City Housing Politics & Policy Black Land Loss in Washington (special topics course) World Cultural Geography
Expertise
Directs the D.C. History Research Lab Supervises student internships in the field of D.C. history
Research Focus / Works in Progress
Rethinking "white flight" from far Southeast D.C., 1950-80; CLR James at Federal City College; mapping ecological stewardship in Washington, D.C.; theorizing the urban pollinator commons; history of tenant organizing in Washington, D.C.; limited-equity housing cooperatives in Washington, D.C.
Leadership
National Park Foundation Mellon Mentor on the project Documenting Punk and Gogo in the Nation's Capital, 2024-Present
Impact
Selected Publications
Anderson, C., & Huron, A. (2023). The mixed potential of salvage commoning: Crisis and commoning practices in Washington, D.C., and New York City. Antipode,55(4), 1004-1023.
Huron, A. (2021). Caring in public: The struggle for community Park West. Washington History,33(1), 26-34.
Huron, A. (2018). Carving out the commons: Tenant organizing and housing cooperatives in Washington, D.C. University of Minnesota Press.
Selected Presentations
Huron, A. (2023). Seeing like a bee: Tracing the urban pollinator commons. American Association of Geographers, Denver, Colorado.
Huron, A. (2022). Caring in public:The struggle for Community Park West. Annual D.C. History Conference, Washington, D.C.
Huron, A. (2018). Struggling for housing, from D.C. to Johannesburg: Washington innercity self help goes to South Africa. Gentrification: Measuring, Preventing, Addressing Conference, São Paulo, Brazil.
Selected Grants
Department of Agriculture. (2022-24). Mapping historic and contemporary ecological stewardship in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Education. (2022). D.C. History Research Lab.
Humanities D.C. (2020-21). Black land loss in Washington: Memories of the past, hopes for the future.
Recognitions
Award for Excellence in Community Advocacy, University of the District of Columbia, 2024 Award for Teaching Excellence, University of the District of Columbia, 2023 Award for Service and Advocacy, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 2017 Award for Teaching Excellence, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 2014
Invited Participations
Huron, A. (2024). Guest scholar respondent. Albert H. Small Symposium, George Washington University Museum.
Huron, A. (2023). Housing justice. Race, Ethnicity and Place Conference, Washington, D.C.
Huron, A. (2022). Practicing cooperation: On co-ops and communities in contemporary capitalism. Urban Affairs Association, Washington, D.C.
Huron, A. (2021). Adams Morgan neighborhood talk: Affordable housing. Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission, Washington, D.C.
