MIT has appointed Karilyn Crockett as Lecturer in Public Policy & Planning within the Department of Urban Studies & Planning. As part of her full-time appointment, Karilyn will teach “Making Public Policy” and “Introduction to Housing, Community and Economic Development.” She will also offer graduate and undergraduate workshops and seminars based on her expertise in political science & society, community development, urban history and infrastructures, race, housing & migration.
Crockett’s research focuses on large-scale land use changes in twentieth century American cities and examines the social and geographic implications of structural poverty. Crockett this year published a book, “People Before Highways: Reconsidering Routes to and from the Boston Anti-Highway Movement” investigating a 1960s era grassroots movement to halt urban extension of the interstate highway system.
Prior to graduate school, Crockett co-founded Multicultural Youth Tour Of What’s Now (MYTOWN), an award winning, educational non-profit organization. A Boston organization, MYTOWN hired public high school students to research their local and family histories to produce youth-led walking tours for public audiences. During its nearly 15 years of operation, MYTOWN created jobs for more than 300 low and moderate-income teenagers, who in turn led public walking tours for more than 14,000 visitors and residents. In a White House ceremony, the National Endowment for the Humanities cited MYTOWN as “One of ten best Youth Humanities Programs in America.”
Crockett holds a PhD from the American Studies program at Yale University, a Master of Science in Geography from the London School of Economics, and a Master of Arts and Religion from Yale Divinity School.
