Since 1999, the Urban Affairs Association has sponsored an award for the best book in the field of urban affairs/urban studies. From 1999-2015, the award was given on a biennial basis and focused on North American urban contexts. However, in 2016, the award became an annual opportunity, and the guidelines were revised to welcome books on any urban context in the world. The purpose of the annual award is to encourage high-quality research on urban issues within any national context and reward cogent writing on urban affairs.
DEADLINE: October 1, 2024 (11:59pm CDT) – Last day to submit a nomination
To nominate a book, ask the author or publisher to submit a digital copy (i.e. PDF) of the book via the submission form by the deadline noted above.
Only books meeting the stated eligibility guidelines, and that are received by the nomination deadline, will be given consideration.
Submit a NominationThe award recipient receives:
The plaque will be presented at the Awards & Recognition Program held during the annual UAA Conference. Following the conference, a press release will be prepared announcing the recipient(s).
The award selection committee may choose to recognize another book(s) by giving Honorable Mention award(s). Each Honorable Mention award recipient will receive a conference registration waiver (valued at $600+).
A committee of UAA members selected by the Governing Board Chair will make the award decision. The UAA Executive Office informs the recipient of the award decision.
2024
Naa Oyo Kwate
White Burgers, Black Cash: Fast Food from Black Exclusion to Exploitation
University of Minnesota Press
Award Press Release
2023
Chandan Deuskar
Urban Planning in a World of Informal Politics
University of Pennsylvania Press
Award Press Release
2022
Tim Dixon and Mark Tewdwr-Jones
Urban Futures: Planning for City Foresight and City Visions
Policy Press
Award Press Release
2021
Jennifer Clark
Uneven Innovation: The Work of Smart Cities
Columbia University Press
Award Press Release
2020
Jessica Trounstine
Segregation by Design: Local Politics and Inequality in American Cities
Cambridge University Press
Award Press Release
2019
Mehrsa Baradaran
The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap
Belknap Press
Award Press Release
2018
Nikhil Anand
Hydraulic city: Water and the infrastructures of citizenship in Mumbai
Duke University Press
Award Press Release
2018 (Honorable Mention)
Gavin Shatkin
Cities for profit: The real estate turn in Asia’s urban politics
Cornell University Press
Award Press Release
2017
Rachel Weber
From Boom to Bubble: How Finance Built the New Chicago
The University of Chicago Press, 2015
Award Press Release
2017 (Honorable Mention)
Robert Chaskin & Mark M. Joseph
Integrating the Inner City: The Promise and Perils of Mixed-Income Public Housing Transformation
The University of Chicago Press, 2015
Award Press Release
2015
Lawrence J. Vale
Purging the Poorest: Public Housing and the Design Politics of Twice-Cleared Communities
University Of Chicago Press, 2013
Award Press Release
2015 (Honorable Mention)
Sonia Hirt
Zoned in the USA: The Origins and Implications of American Land-Use Regulation
Cornell University Press, 2014
Award Press Release
2013
Rachel Woldoff
White Flight/Black Flight: The Dynamics of Racial Change in an American Neighborhood
Cornell University Press, 2011
2011
Japonica Brown-Saracino
A Neighborhood That Never Changes: Gentrification, Social Preservation, and the Search for Authenticity
University of Chicago Press, 2010
2011 (Honorable Mention)
Karen Bakker
Privatizing Water: Governance Failure and the World’s Urban Water Crisis
Cornell University Press, 2010
2009
David Freund
Colored Property: State Policy and White Racial Politics in Suburban America
University of Chicago Press, 2007
2007
Lance Freeman
There Goes the ‘Hood: Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up
Temple University Press, 2006
2005
Robert O. Self
American Babylon: Race and the Struggle for Post War Oakland
Princeton University Press, 2003
2003
Eric Klinenberg
Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago
University of Chicago Press, 2002
2001
Lawrence Vale
From the Puritans to the Projects: Public Housing and Public Neighbors
Harvard University Press, 2000
1999
Paul Jargowsky
Poverty and Place: Ghettos, Barrios, and the American City
Russell Sage Foundation Publications, 1998
