Chase M. Billingham

 

Chase Billingham is an urban sociologist whose research examines gentrification, economic development, education, and stratification in U.S. metropolitan areas.

He is the author of All-American City: Bluster, Boom, and Bust in Wichita (University Press of Kansas, 2026), a critical social history of Wichita, Kansas that extrapolates from Wichita’s experience to explain common contemporary economic development patterns across U.S. cities.

His work has been published in Sociology of Education, City & Community, Urban Studies, and other outlets in sociology, education research, history, and urban affairs. In published academic research, as well as op-eds and other public engagement, Billingham provides a sociological perspective on current issues in urban development and inequality affecting the Wichita region. Along with introductory sociology and core courses in statistics and social theory that are required for sociology majors, Billingham also teaches courses in social inequality and urban sociology.

Billingham is the Book Review Editor for Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains.

You can learn more about his research by consulting his vita or by visiting his website, Google Scholar, or Amazon author page.

Publications          Recent Commentaries          In the News

All-American City: Bluster, Boom, and Bust in Wichita. University Press of Kansas, 2026.

"Gentrifying Schools in Gentrifying Neighborhoods: Recent Developments and Future Research in the United States." In Gentrification and Schooling in Global Cities, edited by Xavier Bonal and Marta Cordini, 2026. (with Shelley M. Kimelberg)

"'Kansas Women Are Awake': Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Journeys in Kansas and the Origins of Women and Economics." Great Plains Quarterly, 2024.

"The Political Roots of City Managers in Kansas." Kansas History, 2024. (with H. Edward Flentje)

"'More About the Neighborhood Than the School': Leveraging 'Don't Know' Survey Responses to Probe Parental Evaluations of School Safety." AERA Open, 2024. (with Shelley M. Kimelberg and Matthew O. Hunt)

“‘Let’s Milwaukeeize Wichita’: Socialism, Municipal Politics, and the Mayoral Election of 1911.” Kansas History, 2022.

"In Search of a Safe School: Racialized Perceptions of Security and the School Choice Process." The Sociological Quarterly, 2020. (with Shelley M. Kimelberg, Sarah Faude, and Matthew O. Hunt)

"Urban Renewal, Homelessness, and the Birth and Death of Wichita's Naftzger Park." Kansas History, 2019.

“The Conceptual Pliability of TIF and the Political Rhetoric of Environmental Remediation: Groundwater Pollution and Tax ‘Decrement’ Financing in Wichita.” In Tax Increment Financing and Economic Development: Uses, Structures, and Impact (2^nd Edition), edited by Craig L. Johnson and Kenneth A. Kriz, 2019. (with Sean Sandefur)

“Within-District Racial Segregation and the Elusiveness of White Student Return to Urban Schools.” Urban Education, 2019.

“Identifying the Urban: Resident Perceptions of Community Character and Local Institutions in Eight Metropolitan Areas.” City & Community, 2018. (with Shelley McDonough Kimelberg)

“Waiting for Bobos: Displacement and Impeded Gentrification in a Midwestern City.” City & Community, 2017.

“Opinion Polling and the Measurement of Americans’ Attitudes Regarding Education.” Journal of Education Policy, 2016. (with Shelley McDonough Kimelberg)

“School Racial Composition and Parental Choice: New Evidence on the Preferences of White Parents in the United States.” Sociology of Education, 2016. (with Matthew O. Hunt)

“The Broadening Conception of Gentrification: Recent Developments and Avenues for Future Inquiry in the Sociological Study of Urban Change.” Michigan Sociological Review, 2015.

“Parental Choice, Neighbourhood Schools, and the Market Metaphor in Urban Education Reform.” Urban Studies, 2015.

“Middle-Class Parents, Urban Schooling, and the Shift from Consumption to Production of Urban Space.” Sociological Forum, 2013. (with Shelley McDonough Kimelberg)

“Attitudes toward Diversity and the School Choice Process: Middle-Class Parents in a Segregated Urban Public School District.” Urban Education, 2013. (with Shelley McDonough Kimelberg)

 

"For Homeless, Wichita Heat Relief Plan Is a Free Bus Ride to Contempt." The Wichita Eagle, August 12, 2026. 

"Politicians Love 'Affordability' Rhetoric. But It Hasn't Offered Path to Urban Prosperity in Kansas." Kansas Reflector, June 25, 2026.

"Vote No Campaign Misleads on Wichita Test Scores; They Went Up after 2008 School Bond." The Wichita Eagle, February 21, 2025.

"The Economy Is Up, so Why Are Voters Down? Misplaced Economic Nostalgia." USA Today, November 4, 2024.

"Disruptive School Closures Are to Be Expected in a State That Does Not Value Public Education." Kansas Reflector, March 14, 2024.

"New Year, New Council: What Can Wichita Expect from City Government in 2024?" Kansas Reflector, January 11, 2024.

“Kudos for City Adding Downtown Water Stations and Restrooms.” The Wichita Eagle, September 19, 2023.

"Clickbait Rating: Wichita City Services Not Good, but Cheap." The Wichita Eagle, July 9, 2023.

"How Wichita Picks Its Board Members Invites Chaos, Political Patronage." The Wichita Eagle, August 7, 2022.

"Who's the 'Both' in 'Value Them Both?' Not Pregnant Women." The Wichita Eagle, July 20, 2022.

“City Hall Podcasts Are Fun, but a Poor Substitute for Real Integrity.” The Wichita Eagle, May 24, 2022.

"Wichita Area Has Seen Noteworthy Decline in Racial Residential Segregation." The Wichita Eagle, November 14, 2021.

"Longtime Wichita City Employees, Not Just New Hires, Need Raises." The Wichita Eagle, September 12, 2021.

"The Most Important Name You Won't See on a Wichita Ballot this Fall." The Wichita Eagle, August 8, 2021.

"With New Initiatives, Wichita Shows Commitment to Affordable Housing." The Wichita Eagle, December 9, 2020.

"For the Good of Wichita, Clendenin Must Resign." The Wichita Eagle, November 5, 2020. (with Russell Arben Fox and Neal Allen)

"Washington Must Act Now to Provide Direct Relief to Cities." The Wichita Eagle, May 29, 2020.

Four-Part Wichita Eagle Series on Wichita's Public Transit Crisis (September 10-13, 2019)

Part 1: "Can Wichita's Public Transportation System Be Saved?"

Part 2: "After Transit-Reform Fiasco, Wichita Needs to Take Its Cue from the Q."

Part 3: "Wichita Spends Far Less on Public Transportation Than Its Peers -- That Has to Change."

Part 4: "The Fix for Wichita's Transit Problems Won't Be Politically Popular."

"Was Naftzger Park Built on Private Land? Not Exactly." The Wichita Eagle, April 3, 2019.

“Navigating the Divide between Urban and Rural in Wichita.” The Wichita Eagle, November 1, 2018.

“Southeast’s Grad Rate More about Discipline.” The Wichita Eagle, May 10, 2018.

“New Laws Will Criminalize Homeless.” The Wichita Eagle, December 17, 2017.

 

"Wichita Officials OK $100M in Property Tax Relief for Boeing, Others." The Wichita Eagle, June 9, 2026.

"Wichita Is a Rare Mecca of Affordability for America's New Middle Class." The Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2026.

"Episode 122: All-American City." Unfrozen podcast, May 4, 2026.

"Boom and Bust: New Book Dives into Wichita's Urban Evolution and Identity Crisis." KMUW, Wichita Public Radio, April 24, 2026.

"A Forthcoming Book Describes Boom and Bust in Wichita and Blustery Cycles of Economic Bravado." Kansas Reflector, December 21, 2025.

Kansas Week. PBS Kansas, November 7, 2025.

"Progressives Turn Tide, Dominate Wichita Elections. What's It All Mean?" The Wichita Eagle, November 7, 2025.

"Advisory Group Inflated Potential Budget Savings, Analysis Finds." The Wichita Eagle, August 10, 2025.

Kansas Week. PBS Kansas, August 1, 2025.

"Any Attempt to Serve the Common Good in Kansas Will Face Partisan Attacks. Society Demands Better." Kansas Reflector, July 23, 2025.

"Wichita Mayor on Losing End of Key Votes in Her First Year." The Wichita Eagle, January 26, 2025.

"On a Sunday in Wichita, Homeless Brace for Winter -- and Tougher Laws Against Illegal Camping." Kansas Reflector, December 22, 2024.

"Wichita Preps 'More Aggressive' Anti-Camping Ordinances Aimed at Homeless Encampments." The Wichita Eagle, September 26, 2024.

"Why the City's Hacked Website Is Unfit to Be 'Official Newspaper.'" The Wichita Eagle, June 16, 2024.

"Wichita's Bus Riders Want Better Service, but Money Is Short." The Wichita Beacon, May 8, 2024.

"Why Wichita's Century II Is Salvaged but not Quite Saved." The Journal: A Civic Issues Magazine, April 30, 2024.

"Wichita Police Chief Talks Hirings, Firings in First Year." The Wichita Eagle, December 31, 2023.

"Johnson County Elections Aren't Really Nonpartisan." The Kansas City Star, November 1, 2023.

"New SAT Data Highlights the Deep Inequality at the Heart of American Education." The New York Times, October 23, 2023.

"Our ‘Thing-Oriented’ Society Puts Development Ahead of Human Needs. We All Suffer the Consequences." Kansas Reflector, October 13, 2023.

"Old Town's Future Questioned after City Barricades Garage." The Wichita Eagle, August 20, 2023.

"City to End Use of Costly 'Eviction Mercenaries' to Clear Homeless Camps in Wichita Parks." The Wichita Eagle, May 7, 2023.

"Kansas Lawmakers' Flimsy 'Woke' Narrative Melts under Heat of Civil Rights History." Kansas Reflector, April 16, 2023.

"‘Nowhere’ for Homeless People to Go: MO Banned Outdoor Sleeping, KS May Follow Suit." The Kansas City Star, March 2, 2023.

"Wichita’s Newest Park: A Forced Marriage of Civil Rights and Medical School." The Wichita Eagle, February 12, 2023.

"Save Century II Founder Expands Watchdog Role." The Active Age (Wichita, KS), January 1, 2023.

"Public Parks, Private Profits." The Wichita Eagle, August 28, 2022.

"Kansas Stemt over Abortus: ‘Wat in Andere Staten Gebeurt, Maakt dit Heel Concreet.’" Knack Magazine (Belgium), July 26, 2022.

"What Will It Take to Replace the Tens of Thousands of Trees Cut Down in Wichita?" The Wichita Eagle, April 17, 2022.

"Despite More Diversity, Neighborhood-Level Segregation Still Exists." KAKE-TV, February 9, 2022.

"Wichita Police Officers Raise Concerns in Focus Groups, Blame Leaders for Some Problems." The Wichita Eagle, January 16, 2022.

"Why Has Wichita Removed 189 Bus Stops in 2021?" The Wichita Beacon, December 15, 2021.

"Are Local Elections Becoming Nonpartisan in Name Only?" The Journal: A Civic Issues Magazine, October 27, 2021.

"Grievance Envy Discounts the Oppressed While Denying Them Justice." Kansas Reflector, September 20, 2021.

"Critical Race Theory in Kansas: Anti-American Indoctrination? Or Political Scare Tactic?" Kansas Reflector, July 28, 2021.

"How Should the City Spend Its Federal COVID Recovery Dollars? Wichitans Weigh In." The Wichita Beacon, July 27, 2021.

"Who's Behind the Mysterious Proposal for Wichita's Riverfront? Details Start to Emerge." The Wichita Eagle, July 4, 2021.

"Wichita Officials Drop 'Friends' from Ethics Proposal." The Wichita Eagle, April 28, 2021.

"Textron Aviation Workers Hold Rally as Contract Deadline Approaches." KWCH-TV, September 10, 2020.

"The Role of Police in Gentrification." The Appeal, August 4, 2020.

"We Need to Talk about Racism in Schools." The Hill, June 29, 2020.

"Naftzger Park Namesake Misspelled in Poem." The Wichita Eagle, March 12, 2020.

"Wichita Plans to Reduce Lanes on Douglas for Bike, Scooter Experiment." The Wichita Eagle, October 20, 2019.

"The Case for Raising Kids in the City." Vox, September 16, 2019.

"Wichita Planning to Lease Some Naftzger Park Land to Restaurants for Private Outdoor Dining." The Wichita Eagle, September 7, 2019.

"Democratic Candidates' School Integration Plans, Explained." Vox, July 3, 2019.

"Parents Are Biased against Even Quality 'Urban' Schools." The Atlantic, December 12, 2018.

“Lee County Voters Elect First African-American to School Board.” The News-Press (Fort Myers, FL), November 7, 2018.

“Should City Make the Homeless Leave Downtown Wichita Park?” The Wichita Eagle, June 25, 2017.

“Wichita’s 50-Year Effort to Rid Naftzger Memorial Park of Homeless People.” The Wichita Eagle, June 25, 2017.

“The Privilege of School Choice: When Given the Chance, Will Wealthy Parents Ever Choose to Desegregate Schools?” The Atlantic, April 25, 2017.

Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson. “Can an Inner City School District Attract and Retain Middle Class Families?” WDET Radio, March 16, 2016.

“Schools’ Racial Balance a Concern.” The Wichita Eagle, January 24, 2016.