Wikipedia

Joseph Heathcott

Joseph Heathcott (born 1968) is an American writer, educator, scholar, and artist based in New York City. He is a Professor of Urban and Environmental Studies at The New School, where he teaches at Parsons School of Design and the Milano School for Policy, Management, and Environment.[1] He is also the founder and director of the Laboratory for Urban Spatial and Landscape Research.[2] His work spans urbanism, the history and theory of architecture, city planning, urban theory, cultural landscape studies, visual culture, and photography.

Joseph Heathcott
Born1968
Evansville, Indiana, United States
Alma materWashington University (BA) Indiana University (MA, PhD)
OccupationAcademic
EmployerThe New School
Known for
Websiteheathcott.nyc

urbanspacelab.org

newschool.edu/parsons/faculty/joseph-heathcott/

Early life

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Joseph Heathcott was born in 1968 in Evansville, Indiana, into a working-class Catholic family. Growing up during the 1970s and 1980s. He developed an early interest in the fragility and resilience of urban environments, a passion that he expressed through photography, a skill deeply influenced by his upbringing in a gritty industrial city and his family's experiences with deindustrialization.[3]

Education

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Heathcott attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied History and Political Theory. During his time there, he also pursued his interests in photography and printmaking, and began exploring Situationist-inspired practices such as agit-prop, détournement, and psychogeography.[4] Influential thinkers he encountered during his studies include Walter Benjamin, James Baldwin, Stuart Hall, and Jane Jacobs. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Heathcott was actively involved with Latin American solidarity, the Catholic Worker movement, and the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

After graduating in 1990, Heathcott received training in community organizing with the Industrial Areas Foundation in the South Bronx and the National Training and Information Center in Chicago. In 1992, he began part-time graduate studies at Indiana University, where he worked on local housing and homeless campaigns in Southern Indiana.[5][6][7] He earned an M.A. in Public History in 1996 and a dual Ph.D. in History and American Studies in 2001, studying under John Bodnar, Henry Glassie, and Casey Nelson Blake.[8]

Academic career

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Heathcott began his academic career in 1999 as a Visiting Lecturer in the School of Architecture and the Program in American Culture Studies at Washington University. In 2001, he was appointed Assistant Professor of American Studies at Saint Louis University, where he also taught in the Urban Planning program.[9]

In 2007, he joined the faculty at The New School in New York as an Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Faculty Director of Civic Engagement at Eugene Lang College. By 2011, he became part of the newly formed Schools for Public Engagement. Currently, Heathcott is a tenured Professor of Urban and Environmental Studies at the Milano School for Policy, Management, and Environment and Parsons School of Design.

Throughout his career, Heathcott has received numerous prestigious fellowships, including the U.S. Fulbright Distinguished Chair for the United Kingdom, Mellon Distinguished Fellowship in Architecture, Urbanism, and the Humanities at Princeton University,[10][11] and a Distinguished Visiting Fellowship at the CUNY Graduate Center.[12] He has also taught at several prominent institutions, including the University of the Arts London,[13] Sciences Po in Paris,[14] London School of Economics,[15] and the University of Vienna.[16] Heathcott served as President of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History[17] and has been on numerous editorial boards.

Scholarly and creative practice

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Joseph Heathcott is known for his interdisciplinary work in urbanism.[17][18][19] His dissertation and early work focused on the interplay between race, class, and the built environment. His first book, Beyond the Ruins: The Meanings of Deindustrialization, co-edited with Jefferson Cowie, reframes the debate on capital flight and its geographies.[20] He has published extensively on topics such as race, housing, and urban planning, and appeared in the documentary The Pruitt-Igoe Myth. Heathcott also co-edited a special issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association for the 75th anniversary of the 1937 Housing Act.[21][22]

In addition to his academic work, Heathcott has a significant practice in photography and visual culture. His book Capturing the City: Photographs from the Streets of St. Louis, 1900-1930, co-authored with Angela Dietz, examines how municipal officials documented their city through photography.[23][24] Heathcott's book Global Queens: An Urban Mosaic received the David Coffin Publication.[25] His photographic work has appeared in numerous books, articles, exhibits, and juried art shows, and has been featured in venues such as The Guardian,[26] Domus,[27] and Urban Omnibus, The Journal of the Architectural League of New York.[28]

Heathcott's current work focuses on urban spatial production and landscape forms. He collaborated with Ron van Oers on the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape approach, publishing a research project on the Swahili Coast of East Africa.[29] His interest in infrastructure led to the publication of The Routledge Handbook of Infrastructure Design: Global Views from Architectural History and Urban Infrastructure: Historical and Social Dimensions of an Interconnected World, co-edited with Jonathan Soffer and Ray Zimmerman.[30][31] He also continues to show his work in exhibits and juried art shows; most recently he contributed 40 photographs to the exhibit "City of Faith," mounted at the Museum of the City of New York in 2022[32] and his work was included in a group show at the Museo del Banco de México in 2023.[33] In 2022, Heathcott founded the Laboratory for Urban Spatial and Landscape Research at The New School to support ongoing projects with his Ph.D. students and colleagues.

Personal life

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Joseph Heathcott resides in Jackson Heights, Queens,[34] with his partner of over 30 years, Ashley Cruce.

Selected works

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  • Beyond the Ruins: The Meanings of Deindustrialization (2003), co-edited with Jefferson Cowie
  • Capturing the City: Photographs from the Streets of St. Louis, 1900-1930 (2007), with Angela Dietz[35]
  • Global Queens: An Urban Mosaic (2017)
  • Urban Infrastructure: Historical and Social Dimensions of an Interconnected World (2020), co-edited with Jonathan Soffer and Ray Zimmerman
  • The Routledge Handbook of Infrastructure Design: Global Views from Architectural History (2021)
  • American Public Housing at 75: Policy, Planning, and the Public Good[22]

Articles and essays

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  • The House that Antifascism Built. Platform magazine, September 2021.[36]
  • Race, Planning, and the American City. Aggregate 3: Black Lives Matter, March 2015.[37]
  • The World on a Cup: Coffee from the Kitchen Table to the Global Stage. Montreal Review, January 2015.[38]
  • Landscape Entanglements: Toward a New Descriptive Project in Planning Theory. Berkeley Planning Journal 31 (2020)[39]
  • Architecture, Urban Form, and Assemblage Aesthetics in Mexico City's Street Markets. International Journal of Architectural Research 13, no. 1, March 2019.[40]
  • Public Housing as a Tool of Racial Segregation. In Daniel D'Oca and Tobias Armborst, The Arsenal of Exclusion and Inclusion. Actar Press, 2017.[41]
  • The Bold and the Bland: Art, Redevelopment, and the Creative Commons in Post-Industrial New York. City: Analysis of Urban Trends, Culture, Theory, Policy, Action 19, no. 1 (2015).[42]
  • The Strange Career of Public Housing: Policy, Planning, and the American Metropolis in the Twentieth Century. Journal of the American Planning Association 78, no. 4 (2012).[43]
  • Heritage in the Dynamic City: The Politics and Practice of Conservation on the Swahili Coast. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 37, no. 1 (2012).[44]
  • In the Nature of a Clinic: The Design of Early Public Housing. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 70, no. 1 (March 2011).[45]

Media and interviews

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  • McWhirther, Joshua. "Joseph Heathcott's Global Queens." Interview for Mediapolis: A Journal of Cities and Culture, 8 April 2024.[46]
  • Guvenc, Pinar. "Urban Design Amidst Complexities." Interview for "What's the Matter With?" podcast, SOUR Studios, 10 November 2023, released 20 January 2024. (55 minutes).[47]
  • Mogilevich, Mariana. "Queens Close Up." Interview with Joseph Heathcott for Urban Omnibus: The Journal of the Architectural League of New York, 7 Dec 2023.[48]
  • "Camera in Hand, Bringing a 'Mash-up' Borough into Focus." Interview with Urban Matters, Center for New York City Affairs, 15 Nov 2023.[34]
  • McGowan, Alan. "Profiles in Sustainability: Joseph Heathcott." Interview with Alan McGowan, Environment magazine, Nov 2022.[49]
  • Sarovic, Alexander. "America's Rust Belt and the Rise of Trump." Interview with Der Spiegel, 24 Dec 2020.
  • Perez, Sergio. "Los Tianguis de CDMX." Interview with Vice magazine, Mexico City, 25 Oct 2018.[50]
  • "Mexico's Multicoloured Markets From Above." The Guardian, 12 October 2018.[26]
  • "An Urban Data Stream." Photographic feature in Domus magazine, March 2017.[27]
  • Paprika!, Yale University School of Architecture. Interview with Joseph Heathcott, April 2017.[51]
  • Journal of Arts Writing by Students, Vol. 2, No. 1. Interview with Joseph Heathcott, 2015.
  • Greene, Lynnda. "Saints Preserve Us: Can the Idealists Save a City with a History of Selling Its History for the Right Price (or a Parking Lot)?" St. Louis Magazine, May 3, 2007.[52]

References

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  1. ^ "Joseph Heathcott | Schools of Public Engagement". www.newschool.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  2. ^ "Joseph Heathcott". Urban Space Lab. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  3. ^ McGowan, Alan H. (2022-11-02). "Profiles in Sustainability: Joseph Heathcott, Chair of Urban and Environmental Studies at the New School, New York City, New York". Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development. 64 (5–6): 28–36. Bibcode:2022ESPSD..64e..28M. doi:10.1080/00139157.2022.2131191. ISSN 0013-9157.
  4. ^ ASPI. "Joseph Heathcott Collection of Counterculture Publications". ArchivesSpace Public Interface.
  5. ^ "Joseph Heathcott". Princeton Mellon Initiative in Architecture, Urbanism & the Humanities. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  6. ^ Sheckler, Jackie. "Shanty town to be built in park". The Herald-Times. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  7. ^ Schock, Lisa. "'Starvation Army\' on the march". The Herald-Times. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  8. ^ ""The City Remade: Public Housing and the Urban - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. ProQuest 223308178. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  9. ^ "Joseph Heathcott". ACLS. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  10. ^ Pitkin, Ellie (2010-11-29). "LECTURE (TrAIN): "The Known City: Visual Rhetorics of Urbanism in the 20th C." (1 Dec)". H-urban.
  11. ^ York, The New School 66 West 12th Street New; Ny 10011 (2015-05-15). "Joseph Heathcott Awarded Mellon Distinguished Fellowship |". The New School News. Retrieved 2024-08-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Graduate-Center. "ARC Seminar: Joseph Heathcott". Graduate-Center.
  13. ^ "Joseph Heathcott | Fulbright Scholar Program". fulbrightscholars.org. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  14. ^ York, The New School 66 West 12th Street New; Ny 10011 (2019-11-06). "Associate Professor of Urban Studies, Joseph Heathcott, publishes several pieces". Global, Urban, and Environmental Studies (GLUE). Retrieved 2024-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Cities-News. "MSc News" (PDF).
  16. ^ "VIENNA SUMMER SCHOOL IN URBAN STUDIES "Right to the City: Appropriations of Public Spaces in Transition"". www.planum.net. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  17. ^ a b York, The New School 66 West 12th Street New; Ny 10011 (2013-10-10). "NSPE Associate Dean Named Next President of Society for American City and Regional Planning History |". The New School News. Retrieved 2024-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ https://www.udg.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/UD118_lores.pdf
  19. ^ Buell Hall. "Angels of Memory Guard the City in Freefall". The Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University.
  20. ^ "Beyond the Ruins by Jefferson Cowie | Paperback". Cornell University Press. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  21. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2012). "The Strange Career of Public Housing". Journal of the American Planning Association. 78 (4): 360–375. doi:10.1080/01944363.2012.740296. ISSN 0194-4363.
  22. ^ a b JAPA. "Journal of the American Planning Association, Volume 78, Issue 4 (2012)".
  23. ^ "Read This Now: Capturing the City—Photographs from the Streets of St. Louis". www.stlmag.com. 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  24. ^ Alexander, Jennifer (2016-11-16). "“Capturing The City” Offers Fascinating Look At St. Louis". WKTimes LLC. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  25. ^ "Global Queens". Fordham University Press. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  26. ^ a b "Mexico City's multicoloured markets from above – in pictures". the Guardian. 2018-10-12. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  27. ^ a b "An Urban Data Stream". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  28. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2015-01-14). "Borderlands: Traveling the Brooklyn-Queens Divide". Urban Omnibus. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  29. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Report on the Historic Urban Landscape Workshops and Field Activities on the Swahili coast in East Africa 2011-2012". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  30. ^ "The Routledge Handbook of Infrastructure Design: Global Perspectives from Architectural History". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  31. ^ "Urban Infrastructure". University of Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  32. ^ "City of Faith: The "Secular" City". www.mcny.org. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  33. ^ "Museo Banco de México". museobancodemexico.mx. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  34. ^ a b "Camera in Hand, Bringing a 'Mash-up' Borough into Focus". Center for New York City Affairs. 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  35. ^ Burgess Abramovich, Rebekah (2017). "Capturing the City: Photographs from the Streets of St. Louis, 1900–1930 by Joseph Heathcott and Angela Dietz (review)". Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum. 24 (2): 107–109. ISSN 1934-6832.
  36. ^ "PLATFORM: The House that Anti-Fascism Built: The Hofs of Red Vienna". PLATFORM. 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  37. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2015). "Race, Planning, and the American City". Aggregate. 3. doi:10.53965/WGXP4362. ISSN 2769-8793.
  38. ^ "Coffee, from the Kitchen Table to the Global Stage | Joseph Heathcott". www.themontrealreview.com. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  39. ^ Heathcott, Joseph; Rogan, Kevin (2020). "Landscape Entanglements: Toward a Descriptive Project for Planning Research". Berkeley Planning Journal. 31 (1). doi:10.5070/BP331043867.
  40. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2019-03-15). "Architecture, urban form, and assemblage aesthetics in Mexico City's street markets". Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research. 13 (1): 72–92. doi:10.1108/ARCH-12-2018-0027. ISSN 2631-6862.
  41. ^ "The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion by Actar Publishers - Issuu". issuu.com. 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  42. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2015-01-02). "The bold and the bland: Art, redevelopment and the creative commons in post-industrial New York". City. 19 (1): 79–101. Bibcode:2015City...19...79H. doi:10.1080/13604813.2014.991171. ISSN 1360-4813.
  43. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2012). "The Strange Career of Public Housing: Policy, Planning, and the American Metropolis in the Twentieth Century". Journal of the American Planning Association. 78 (4): 360–375. doi:10.1080/01944363.2012.740296. ISSN 0194-4363.
  44. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2013). "Heritage in the Dynamic City: The Politics and Practice of Urban Conservation on the Swahili Coast". International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 37 (1): 215–237. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01154.x. ISSN 0309-1317.
  45. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2011-03-01). ""In the Nature of a Clinic": The Design of Early Public Housing in St. Louis". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 70 (1): 82–103. doi:10.1525/jsah.2011.70.1.82. ISSN 0037-9808.
  46. ^ McWhirter, Joshua (2024-04-08). "The Mediapolis Q&A: Joseph Heathcott's Global Queens: An Urban Mosaic". Mediapolis: A Journal of Cities and Culture. 9 (1). ISSN 2767-8148.
  47. ^ "106 - Urban Design Amidst Complexities ft. Joseph Heathcott". www.sour.studio. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  48. ^ Heathcott, Joseph (2023-12-07). "Queens Close Up". Urban Omnibus. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  49. ^ McGowan, Alan H. (2022-11-02). "Profiles in Sustainability: Joseph Heathcott, Chair of Urban and Environmental Studies at the New School, New York City, New York". Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development. 64 (5–6): 28–36. Bibcode:2022ESPSD..64e..28M. doi:10.1080/00139157.2022.2131191. ISSN 0013-9157.
  50. ^ Gavilán, Sergio Pérez (2018-10-25). "Los colores de los tianguis de la CDMX desde vistas aéreas". VICE (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  51. ^ "Undigested Morsels – Interview with Joseph Heathcott | Paprika!". yalepaprika.com. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  52. ^ Greene, Lynnda (2007-05-03). "Saints Preserve Us". www.stlmag.com. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
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