Promoting Urban Social Justice through Engaged Communication Scholarship

George Villanueva is an Assistant Professor of Advocacy and Social Change in the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago. In addition to his academic background, George has over 15 years of practitioner experience in electoral politics, urban planning & development, community organizing, and community program evaluation.

"At a time when COVID19, racial reckoning and fiscal austerity settle into and weaken the bones of the public university, when public questions multiply about ‘whose’ university and science is viewed as an elitist instrument of control, George Villanueva offers up engaged communication as a praxis toward just scholarship for the collective good. Villaneuva takes seriously the obligation of the academy to place based justice. As an activist scholar who builds with, struggles alongside and yearns to be of use to communities under siege, in this text he chronicles the delicate, collaborative and care-ful moves of solidarity. At precisely the moment when neoliberal logics threaten to hollow, commodify and white-out all things public and critical, this volume re-visions the reparative university: a necessary gift toward the radical reimagination of higher education in 'revolting' times."—Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor of Critical Psychology, American Studies, Gender/Women's Studies and Urban Education, The Graduate Center, CUNY"As an organizing tool, information is not merely descriptive. It captures people’s daily realities, supports a grand narrative of their aspirations, and guides neighborhood struggle for a just future. Effective communication and messaging are part craft, part art. The practice is impactful when inclusive of diverse actors, technicians and audiences. George Villanueva has done a remarkable job to enlighten the readers through his careful and insightful case studies of South Los Angeles. The book documents the robustness of social and political organizing within a highly marginalized community, and argues rightfully that scholars can and should be a partner contributor in fighting for social justice." —Paul Ong, Director, UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge"Promoting Urban Social Justice is a major contribution to the growing literature on collaborative university-community research and activism. George Villanueva is a prominent young scholar in this field who provides additional building blocks that can be used in shaping a research model that brings together both university-based knowledge and community-based knowledge." —Phil Nyden, Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Founding Director of the Center for Urban Research and Learning, Loyola University Chicago"Straddling the fields of urban planning and communication practice this book is a pioneering contribution toward place making and social change. Much of this effort is based on Professor Villanueva’s personal commitment to achieve social justice through engaged community activism, drawing from his personal experiences of living, learning, and practicing in inner city Los Angeles. A must read, the book offers compelling ideas for theory, practice, and pedagogy." —Tridib Banerjee, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California

• Introduction: Doing Engaged Communication Scholarship 1. Social Justice, Placemaking, and Communication in the City 2. The Social Production of Violence in South Los Angeles 3. Communication Asset Mapping South Los Angeles 4. South Los Angeles Democratic Spaces 5. Ride South Los Angeles Conclusion: Transforming University–Community Partnerships Postscript: Toward Reparative Universities