Powered by Research Education at University Libraries. Speaking of Books series features free, open to the community and public talks by UMD faculty authors on their recently published work. 

School districts across the United States have closed thousands of schools since 2000 to cope with chronic underfunding and budget crises, declining enrollment, and poorly maintained buildings. Our knowledge about school closures has focused on battles over closure decision-making and the impacts of closing schools on communities of color in the immediate aftermath of these decisions. But what of the large, sometimes magisterial, formerly public spaces once at the center of community life? How do these now vacant buildings change daily life in the surrounding neighborhood? In Schools for Sale, Julia McWilliams, Ariel H. Bierbaum, Amy J. Bach, and Elaine Simon examine how school closures change the spatial and social arrangements of neighborhoods. Following a series of school closures in Philadelphia, the authors draw from research in urban studies, education, planning, and geography to explain how race, place, and capital merge to influence the trajectory of closed schools in Black and Brown communities and their surrounding neighborhoods. Drawing needed attention to one of the significant consequences of school closures, Schools for Sale imparts a deeper understanding of the connections between place, race, and education amid broader urban transformations, prompting us to consider how school districts can work toward a new vision for public education and community development. Dr. Bierbaum will discuss lessons from Philadelphia, and also talk about the process of co-authoring a book with three other women, mothers, and scholars through the pandemic. 

Dr. Bierbaum is an associate professor of urban studies and planning at the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, and affiliate faculty of the National Center for Smart Growth and the Maryland Transportation Institute at UMD. Her cross-disciplinary research connects the fields of urban studies, planning, and public education, and asks questions about how public schools and planning at the neighborhood, city, and regional levels interact and contribute to the perpetuation of inequality. Dr. Bierbaum advocates for political action and collective resilience in addressing the complexities of urban development and educational justice.

She is the co-author of the book Schools for Sale: Disinvestment, Dispossession, and School Building Reuse in Philadelphia  published by the University of Chicago Press. Her research also has appeared in the Planning Theory and Practice journal, Journal of the American Planning Association, Journal of Urban Affairs, Housing Policy Debate, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Community Development, Urban Education, education policy analysis archives, and the Transportation Research Record. Dr. Bierbaum has over 25 years of experience in the non-profit and public sectors, working in public policy, cross-sector collaboration, community development, and community arts. She holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of California-Berkeley, a Master in City Planning from MIT, and a BA in urban studies from the University of Pennsylvania.