Garrett Grainger
Email: ggrainger@wisc.edu
Interest Areas
Urban Sociology, Poverty Governance, Social Policy, Homelessness, Mixed Methods
Research Interest Statement:
I am an urban sociologist whose research uses mixed methods to answer the following questions: How do cities govern urban homelessness? How do macro-political economic structures constrain local governing techniques? How do techniques of homeless governance vary across political economic contexts? Each question engages contemporary sociological debates regarding the form, function, and legitimacy of homeless governance in post-Fordist cities. My research draws insight from governmentality theory to conceptualize techniques that homeless service providers use to deliver Housing First in stratified urban rental markets. I demonstrate homeless service providers, in addition to delivering supportive services in secluded spaces that prevent homeless individuals from impeding urban revitalization, yield returns on social investment for federal policymakers through disciplinary interventions.
My research has been generously supported by the Institute for Research on Poverty, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Evelyn T. Crowe Scholarship Fund, and John DeLamater Fund.