People

Assistant Professor – Sociology

Dr. Prentiss Dantzler joined the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor of Sociology in 2021. Previously, he held faculty appointments at Georgia State University (Urban Studies) and Colorado College (Sociology). He also served as a Canada-U.S. Fulbright Scholar at UT and as a Scholar-In-Residence at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Ph.D. in Public Affairs with a concentration in Community Development from Rutgers University-Camden. He also holds an M.P.A. (Urban and Regional Planning) from West Chester University and a B.S. (Energy, Business and Finance) from Penn State University.

His research sits at the nexus of urban poverty, neighbourhood change, race and ethnic relations, housing and community development. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Dantzler explores how and why neighbourhoods change and how policymakers and communities create and react to those changes. He currently serves as a Deputy Editor for City and Community and on the editorial board of the Journal of Urban Affairs. He also serves on the governing board of the Urban Affairs Association.

His current research explores 1) the relationship between housing subsidies and neighbourhood change across the Greater Toronto Area, 2) nonprofits and diverging views of gentrification, 3) the relationship between community associations and segregation in the U.S., and 4) racial capitalism and urban processes.