Becky Nicolaides: "From Green Acres to Suburban Poverty: the Uneven History of Working-Class Housing in South Los Angeles"

Becky M. Nicolaides specializes in the history of American cities, suburbs, and metro areas. She grew up in Los Angeles, attended the University of Southern California, then worked as a journalist before earning a PhD at Columbia University. Her books include My Blue Heaven: Life and Politics in the Working-Class Suburbs of Los Angeles; The Suburb Reader, co-edited with Andrew Wiese; and a current project on the history of suburban social and civic life in Los Angeles since 1945. After serving on the faculties of Arizona State University West and UC San Diego (where she was tenured), she became an independent scholar in 2006. She consults on public history projects in Los Angeles, co-edits a book series for the University of Chicago Press, and has served on five editorial boards. She supports the community of historians in Los Angeles—graduate students, public historians, and university faculty—through her work as co-leader of the LA History & Metro Studies Group.