Marc Doussard is Professor of Urban and Regional Development. He focuses on equitable economic development at the level of communities, cities, and regions. Professor Doussard’s research examines the economic value of social practices, policy development, and emergent issues typically considered to lie outside economic development. His early work demonstrated the value to places and communities of improving pay, working conditions, and job security for low-wage workers. He has since explored the economic development value of marijuana legalization, the maker movement, community organizing, municipal public policy, and investments in local manufacturing capacity.

Professor Doussard holds a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia College, but his real education came at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been active in economic development as a scholar, program staffer, public intellectual, and organizer since the 1990s.