June 23-24, 2016
George Mason University – Arlington, Va.

Over half of the U.S. population live in suburbs, and wield considerable influence over party control of state and federal governments. Yet growing suburban diversity has thrown past claims of a distinctive (and distinctively conservative) suburban politics into doubt. Historians have shown that suburbs have been a cradle to mainstream conservativism and liberalism alike. And in 2012, suburbs included both older, less affluent areas that swung to the Democrats as well as newer and more-affluent suburbs that moved sharply back to the Republicans. Events such as the Ferguson protests suggest that the political cleavages among and within suburbs may become as salient for national politics as the city-suburban divide was in the late 20th century.

George Mason University (Arlington, VA campus) and the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University invite researchers, policy analysts, and political observers to a two-day conference in Arlington, VA that will focus on what these recent shifts mean for the 2016 election and for suburban politics more generally.

We welcome proposals for individual papers and presentations from academic and non-academics alike. Topics might include, but are not limited to:

- The prospects for the development of a comprehensive urban, suburban, or metropolitan policy in the next administration
- Changes in suburban political opinion and incorporation
- The aftermath of the recession and foreclosure crisis and their possible effects on suburban electorate
- Districting and its consequences for political alliances at the state and federal scales
- Immigration and new immigrant groups
- Environmentalism and suburban support / opposition to strong action on climate change
- Transportation and infrastructure revitalization within the suburbs…
- The politics of suburban redevelopment, densification, and Smart Growth

Individual proposals and abstracts should be limited to 200 words. If you have any questions about the conference, please e-mail Katrin Anacker (kanacker@gmu.edu) and Christopher Niedt (Christopher.niedt@hofstra.edu).