Rate My Professor John Harris

Harris's research examines everyday practices of informal economic production, needs of vulnerable populations in urbanizing Africa, post-conflict planning, grassroots community development, informal urbanization, and participatory research methods like photovoice. His publications include 'The Messy Reality of Agglomeration Economies in Urban Informality: Evidence from Nairobi’s Handicraft Industry' (World Development, 2014), 'Joint Action in Nairobi’s Informal Handicraft Production Clusters' (International Development Planning Review, 2016), 'Vulnerable Youth’s Perspectives and Priorities for Informal Settlements: Photovoice Evidence from Lusaka, Zambia' (Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2018), 'Mapping Hope: How Do Vulnerable Youth Locate Hope in Informal Settlements?' (Urban Forum, 2019), 'The Gendered Postconflict City: Possibilities for More Livable Urban Transformations in Gulu, Northern Uganda' (Journal of Urban Affairs, 2023), and 'Outsourcing Neighborhood Planning Processes? A Case Study of a Nonprofit in the City of Oklahoma City' (Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2024). Awards include the OU Presidential Professorship (2018), David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement (2017), and Global Planning Educators Interest Group Best Journal Article Award (2019) for the Lusaka photovoice paper. Harris co-edits the 'Borderless' book series, has presented on tribal planning at Missouri State University (2020), hosted discussions on Uganda peacebuilding, and supervised student projects on community engagement.