Jake is an urban and political sociologist, focused on democracy, housing, and changing cities.

His research examines how community- and city-level processes exacerbate social inequality – and how we can reduce those disparities through institutional innovations and reforms. Jake’s writing can be found in Social Forces, Demography, City & Community, Urban Geography, Social Science History, Energy Research & Social Science, and Political Behavior, as well as the New York Times, Boston Review, The Hill, and Nonprofit Quarterly.

Jake is an assistant professor of sociology at Kean University. He was previously a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University’s Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4) and the Population Studies and Training Center (PSTC). Jake was a Dissertation Fellow with the Institute for Research on Poverty, a Visiting Scholar at NYU’s Urban Democracy Lab, and a Research Fellow at Participatory Budgeting Project.

Jake’s current work is focused on the institutional and political challenges to reshaping housing policy. His research has shaped various housing policy reforms, including the Homes Act of 2024, introduced by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Smith. He is completing a co-authored book titled Housing is a Social Good, under advance contract with University of Chicago Press.