SDSU’s AJ Kim Receives 2026 Marilyn J. Gittell Activist Scholar Award

AJ Kim, Associate Professor of City Planning in the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University, has been selected to receive the 2026 Marilyn J. Gittell Activist Scholar Award, cosponsored by SAGE and the Urban Affairs Association (UAA).

The Marilyn J. Gittell Activist Scholar Award honors field-based urban scholarship that bridges activism, research, and community engagement. 

Inspired by the career of Dr. Marilyn J. Gittell, an influential scholar, community activist, and founding editor of Urban Affairs Quarterly (now Urban Affairs Review), the award recognizes scholars whose work demonstrates a sustained commitment to social justice and meaningful community impact.

“I'm very honored to receive this award in recognition of a tradition of activist scholarship in Urban Studies and Planning, that attempts to bridge the still large institutional gaps between knowledge acquisition and extraction, and knowledge co-production,” said Kim. “There are so many in our field that I look up to, and take inspiration from, for models of this type of activist scholarship - not least Marilyn Gittel, herself.”

The Urban Affairs Association’s Activist Scholar Award Committee selected Kim for the 2026 award in recognition of the quality and relevance of their work illustrating a scholarly agenda of outstanding contributions to the pursuit of social justice. 

Focusing on issues impacting minoritized and diverse communities, Kim’s work considers the challenges of disenfranchised and invisible groups within the practice and field of planning. 

From championing legislative progress to centering the narratives of immigrants and refugees, Kim has a robust record of advocacy and a multi-pronged approach to achieving substantive social change. 

Rather than cataloging the obstacles created by the persistent status quo, Kim’s scholarship argues why and how such communities are better sources to inform “best practices” than normative and “top down” methods.

Kim’s interactive ICE Detention Tracker provides information on the locations and number of detainees, along with additional resources for those impacted by ICE activities. Importantly, it also illustrates the power of activist scholarship engaged in the realities outside of planning studios and publications.

“There's a lot that can be done in times of crisis, and they don't all require institutional support, Kim said. 

“First and foremost, I believe in a kind of "rapid response" research that is responsive to the immediate needs of our communities, and to that end I am very proud to partner with Freedom for Immigrants, an abolitionist anti-ICE anti-prison grassroots organization who are utilizing the tools of mapping to shed light on a carceral system that seeks to disappear people, every day,” Kim said.

The formal presentation of Kim’s award will be made at the International Conference on Urban Affairs in Chicago, Illinois, on April 29, 2026. In addition, there will be a special conference session reflecting on Kim’s work.

Kim’s recognition underscores SDSU’s growing national leadership in community-engaged research and social justice scholarship.