Stuff I’ve Done
Ph.D. in Urban Geography from the University of Washington.
30-years researching and teaching geography and urban studies.
Taught at UT-Austin (18 years), University of Minnesota-Morris (6 years), University of North Carolina-Chappell Hill (1 year), University of Washington (5 years).
Currently (Fall 2025) teaching Introduction to Urban Studies in the Texas Prison Education Initiative at the Coleman Unit in Lockhart.
18-year member of Texas State Employees Union (TSEU), Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local #6186.
Worked with many local organizations in Austin on issues such as
pay and working conditions in heavily immigrant industries
tenants’ rights
worker-coops and the cooperative economy
housing justice
food security
Worked with the City of Austin’s Planning Department on an equity analysis methodology for capital improvement projects (CIPs).
Worked with CM Greg Casar’s and CM Delia Garza’s offices on a Participatory Budgeting initiative.
With the city’s Equity Office, researched and wrote the Black dispossession study (see video below) and an equity assessment of the HOME Initiative based on a review of academic research.
Greg Casar’s appointee to the Citizens’ Advisory Group for CODENext land-use revisions.
Long-term leader in the Cherrywood Neighborhood Association, including working with a coalition of 13 neighborhood associations (called NCINC) on I35 advocacy for the past few years.
Helped found and organize UAW local #4121 at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Watch me deliver a talk at the UT School of Architecture’s 2024 Spring City Forum.
Rich Heyman with The University of Texas at Austin Department of American Studies presents "The Cost of Dispossession." Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and pressure from activist groups calling for reparations resulted in the Austin City Council passing a resolution in 2021 commissioning a study of the “economic value” of past racist policies and practices in Austin. This presentation describes a collaboration between scholars at the University of Texas at Austin and the Equity Office of the City of Austin to quantify the cost of Black dispossession from two of these 20th-century practices: the racial segregation of public services that drove residential segregation; and the redlining of Black neighborhoods, which suppressed the value of Black-owned land.
Things I’ve Written
Non-academic Writings
”Who was Robert Mueller? Reflections on History, Segregation, and Place Names”
“On Statues, History, and Historians.” (About Confederate statues at UT)
“The Flawed Logic and Lack of Evidence Behind Austin’s HOME Initiative”
Op-eds
“Austin’s Economic Development Approach Neglects Lower Paying but Important Jobs”
“Being against the idea of a Jewish state isn't Antisemitic”
“Missing a chance to address the role of racism in UT's history” (about Confederate statues at UT)
A Selection of Academic Writings
