Dr. Victoria Basolo (University of California, Irvine) has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2025 Scott Cummings Distinguished Editorial Service Award.
This award was established in April 2021 to highlight the significant contributions made by individuals in service to UAA’s publications. In the past, UAA has established awards that recognize scholarship and multiple service roles. However, the criteria for these awards do not adequately capture the unique contributions made by persons in editorial roles.
The award is named in honor of Scott Cummings, Editor of the Journal of Urban Affairs (JUA) from 1987 to 2005. At the beginning of Cummings’ 17-year tenure, the future of the journal was uncertain. By the end of his term, the journal had attained a solid reputation with articles by major urban scholars, was accepted by major bibliographic indexing systems, and had become part of the social science family of journals at Wiley Publishers, the largest academic publisher at the time. JUA eventually became part of the urban studies titles published by the global leader in academic journals, Taylor & Francis. UAA continued to expand its publications with the creation of the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City in 2019 and the launch of the Rights to the City Book Series in 2023.
AWARD COMMITTEE ASSESSMENT
It is with great pleasure that the Publication Committee, in its capacity as the selection committee, recommends Victoria Basolo as one of this year’s recipients of the Scott Cummings Distinguished Editorial Service Award in recognition of her service as Editor of the Journal of Urban Affairs. During Victoria Basolo’s five years of service to JUA, the number of submissions increased, and she was particularly appreciated by authors for her great communication skills and collaborative approach.
AWARD RECIPIENT BIO
Victoria Basolo is Professor Emerita of Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of California (UC), Irvine. Prior to her appointment at UC Irvine, she was on the faculty of the School of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of New Orleans. Her primary research interests are housing, environmental hazards, urban politics, and urbanization. She has published in a range of urban, planning, and environmental outlets. She was a Fulbright Scholar and had visiting appointments at the University of Malta, the University of Glasgow, and the UC Center Sacramento. She received her Master of Political Science and Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
AWARD PRESENTATION
The formal presentation of this award will be made at the upcoming International Conference on Urban Affairs in Vancouver, BC, Canada, at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre. The theme of this year’s conference is Urban Concentration: Challenges to Equity, Mobility, and Sustainability. The conference will convene over 900 participants from 55+ countries and representing 20+ fields of study. All award recipients will be formally recognized for their achievements during the Awards and Recognition Program on April 16, 2025; 3:00–4:15pm.
AWARD COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Hélène Bélanger, Université du Québec à Montréal (Chair); Mark Davidson, Clark University; Jonathan Davies, De Montfort University; Roger Keil, York University
ABOUT THE URBAN AFFAIRS ASSOCIATION
The Urban Affairs Association (UAA) is an international professional organization for 1000+ urban scholars, researchers, policy analysts, & public service providers. UAA is dedicated to creating interdisciplinary spaces for engaging in intellectual and practical discussions about urban life. Through theoretical, empirical, and action-oriented research, UAA fosters diverse activities to understand and shape a more just and equitable urban world.
In addition to hosting an annual conference, UAA sponsors ongoing professional development opportunities; Upsilon Sigma: The Urban Studies Honor Society; and two peer-reviewed journals, the Journal of Urban Affairs and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City. You can find UAA on the web, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Facebook, and X.
