About

Japonica Brown-Saracino is an ethnographer specializing in urban and community sociology, cultural sociology, and the study of gender and sexualities. Her work explores themes of community, place, and identity, with a particular focus on gentrification, social preservation, and LGBTQ+ identities in small cities. She has made significant contributions through her research on gentrifying communities, introducing the concept of social preservation, and examining how neighborhood change impacts social interactions and authenticity. Brown-Saracino has authored several influential books, including 'A Neighborhood That Never Changes: Gentrification, Social Preservation, and the Search for Authenticity,' which received the Urban Affairs Association Best Book Award, and 'How Places Make Us: Novel LBQ Identities in Four Small Cities.' Her upcoming book, 'The Death and Life of Gentrification,' will analyze the deployment of the term gentrification across various social actors and its implications. Her research also extends to resistance to gentrification and displacement, and she is working on an edited volume on this topic. Her scholarly work engages with themes of gender, sexuality, community, and place, and she has conducted ethnographies on topics such as dyke bar commemoration and LBQ identities in small cities. Brown-Saracino has received recognition for her articles, including the Jane Addams Award and honorable mention from the American Sociological Association. She has held leadership roles within sociological associations and currently directs the Urban Inequalities Workshop at Boston University, where she is a Professor and Chair in the Sociology Department.

Awards & honors

• 2010 – 2011 Urban Affairs Association Best Book Award
• Jane Addams Award for best article from the Community and Ur…
• Honorable mention for best article from the Community and Ur…

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