Research projects

Hosts public use  data files containing information on racial demographics in electoral precincts in Washington State from 2007 to 2022. Additional data provides information about language minority groups for each county in Washington State.

Seeks to improve the vote-by-mail experience by examining trends in ballot challenges, cures, and rejections across the State of Washington. Research examines variation in ballot cure and rejection rates by county geography, age, race and ethnicity, and gender. 

A set of papers and studies that examine the spatial distribution of early childhood and child care programs nationally at the county-level.  Research analyzes a unique mix of program-level and expenditure data for a host of early childhood programs.

Places in Need: The Changing Geography of Poverty (Russell Sage Foundation Press, 2017) examines the shifting geography of poverty in metro America , rising suburban poverty, and discusses the implications for the  safety net.

Out of Reach: Place, Poverty, and the New American Welfare State (Yale University Press, 2009) traces the emergence of human service programs within the U.S. safety net,  exploring spatial mismatches between at-risk households and provider locations. 

This project provides rigorous real-time analysis of the impact of the 2014 Seattle minimum wage ordinance locally and regionally. The project is a cross-disciplinary mixed methods study, which provides insights useful for policymakers and scholars. 

With rates of food insecurity remaining high and food assistance receipt reaching record levels, it becomes critical to understand  how spatial context shapes household acccess to food assistance and food retailers in the U.S. 

Nonprofit human service organizations occupy an increasingly important role in the U.S. antipoverty safety net. A set of papers and projects examines trends in human service provision, with attention to issues of accessibility within high-poverty areas.