Sophonie Joseph
Adjunct Associate Professor
Biography
Hi, I’m Dr. Sophonie Milande Joseph! I’m a community planner & critic who writes about Black urbanism. My work employs mixed methods to both make the work of planning public and to bring the public into the work of planning. My applied research interests include Black urbanism, community planning, and public arts. My work is transnational planning in nature, spanning the North American continent and the Caribbean; while engaging intersectional feminism, environmental justice, and transnational planning as tools for realizing inclusive community development. Because of the diasporic character of my planning practice, my research projects possess the shared themes of cultural capital and oral narratives. My research trajectory builds from my dissertation work on post-earthquake recovery in Haiti and arcs across North America, reaching African Nova Scotian communities and the Little Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn, exploring the challenges of Black community networks and the role of uneven development.
Education
Dr. Joseph obtained her Doctorate in Urban Planning from Columbia University. She holds a Masters of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan and a Bachelors degree from Rutgers University in Planning & Public Policy.
Publications and Projects
2024 Joseph, S.M. “This Canadian Community Shows the Key to Thriving Black Urbanism.” Next City.
2023 Joseph, S.M. “Transnational Hip-Hop: Reflections of Haiti.” PLATFORM Space.
2023 Joseph, S.M., Osore, E. and Ajayi, Alicia O. “Building Worlds In-Between.” Urban Omnibus.
2021 Joseph, S.M. and Pierre-Louis, François. “How Domestic Elites and Foreign Meddling Undermine Haitian Democracy.” In These Times.