Associate Professor @Harvard @Kennedy_School. Urban and local politics + policy; cyclist; 🏳️🌈; he/him. RTs ≠ endorsements
Boston, MA
Joined February 2009
- Tweets2.3K
- Following2.3K
- Followers3.2K
- Likes46.9K
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
In the mail: The Fog of Accountability by the excellent @jdbk on how "urban politics is defined by minimally effective competition, complex institutions that confuse voters, and a lack of effective media coverage"
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
On the topic of books I was fortunate enough to blurb, here's my two cents on Justin de Benedictis-Kesnner's (@jdbk) comprehensive tour de force, "The Fog of Accountability: How Institutions Keep Voters from Holding Their Local Governments Accountable."
On the theme of Canadian elections, I'm delighted to have been able to give a blurb for Eric Merkley's (@EricMerkley) awesome new book "Polarization, Eh?".
You can't understand polarization on either side of the border without this book.
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Yesterday was a fulfilling day representing Canada in Boston! 🇨🇦
Here’s a moment from a thoughtful and productive conversation on housing policy with students at Harvard University, moderated by Justin de Benedictis-Kessner, at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
🔥🧯 Excited to announce the program of our 2025 MIT workshop on polarization, norms & trust (co-organized w/ @DG_Rand, @ylelkes @AdamBerinsky @kati_kish)!
Speakers incl. @BrendanNyhan @jdbk @dhopkins1776 et al.
Info: sites.google.com/view/polari…
To attend: buy.stripe.com/dRmdRa7Du1fwe…
📣 Call for Papers 📣
Interested in the newest research on polarization, norms & trust?
Present your work our workshop on Dec 5-6 @ MIT, co-organized with @DG_Rand, @ylelkes @AdamBerinsky & @kati_kish
𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: sites.google.com/view/polari…
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: July 14
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
📢 It’s time to nominate for the 2025 Urban & Local Politics Section Awards!
We’re recognizing outstanding work in urban politics across multiple categories, including best dissertation, book, and career contributions.
🏆 Deadline: March 15, 2025
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
great example of overlapping jurisdictions leading to muddled accountability: city of LA is asking state costal agency to block homeless housing that council approved on city-owned land. can say they tried to address homeless but avoid backlash from it being built
This quoted post is unavailable.
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Can developers compensate nearby residents to win support for their housing projects? In a new @JPublicPolicy article, @jdbk and I unpack how compensation works, when it fails, and what that teaches us about symbolic attitudes and housing policy. 1/11
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
I'm really proud of TrueViews. Great story about it here in the Harvard Crimson. We have more fun updates to the site on the way, including more policy issues and the display of public opinion in local government districts.
This is a great Crimson story about trueviews.org/, the new site aiming to improve representation by better informing elected officials about their constituents' policy views.
thecrimson.com/article/2024/…
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
This paper, the most systematic evidence yet, shows no partisan effect on anything related to policing. Explaining why this is the case is one of the more pressing social science questions of today
Great work by @jdbk Harvey Jones and @cwarshaw.
ungated: scholar.harvard.edu/files/jd…
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
On Friday 6/21, another person biking was tragically killed in a crash. This is the second cyclist death in Cambridge in two weeks. Please join us this Monday 6/24 for a vigil at Cambridge City Hall to grieve their loss.
RSVP: actionnetwork.org/events/vig…
ALT Vigil Cambridge City Hall Monday June 24 4:45-5:30pm Join Cambridge Bicycle Safety as a community to grieve the recent victims of traffic violence.
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Great to see research by @jdbk & @MaxwellBPalmer inspiring companies to improve voter access to the polls. @BUonCities @Kennedy_School forbes.com/sites/davidhessek…
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Does race change our level of sympathy for people suffering from addiction? @jdbk finds that Americans are more sympathetic when they see opioid users who look like themselves. buff.ly/3vlYjWs
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
How race makes us less punitive on opioid policy
Americans favor less punitive opioid policies because they see sympathetic white users in media coverage of the crisis.
New @NiskanenCenter #ScienceOfPolitics with @Tanika_R & @jdbk
niskanencenter.org/how-race-…
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Targeting renters to show up to support local housing development works: even low-cost outreach strategies can meaningfully increase participation in lesser-known settings like city councils and make these bodies more reflective of the general public
journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10…
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Boston @MayorWu's campaign pledged ‘a new vision for Boston’s streets.’ Can HKS students help?
Read about a field lab led by @jdbk that evaluated a car-free street policy ➡️ ken.sc/42ybkZi
ALT Quote by Justin de Benedictis-Kessner that reads: "The benefit to experiential learning is that more students get involved in wanting to be in government later. That's our bottom line.”
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Very important paper from @cwarshaw and @jdbk about the effect of consolidating elections. Turnout is increased. However, results don't change very much. A huge dataset and careful attention to method. A must-read. scholar.harvard.edu/sites/sc…
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Media narratives have generally blamed Democrats for housing crises in cities.
But research by HKS's @jdbk and coauthors suggests that's not the full story ⤵️ ken.sc/3NhxIQe
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
Very excited to share new paper with @MichaelTHartney on teachers' union influence in local school board elections!
Read on for details!
edworkingpapers.com/ai23-841
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
#Vol11Iss3 | @jdbk and @MaxwellBPalmer ask if lack of car access lowers voter turnout? Using data from Michigan, they find that lacking a car has significant negative effects on the propensity of a citizen to vote.
Research note here: doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2021.67
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner retweeted
The Local Political Economy Pre-APSA Conference will take place at Claremont Graduate University on August 30th. Apply to present or attend!
@trounstine @prof_mirya @jdbk @mullinmeg
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…
