Alan Mallach is known as both a thinker and practitioner on cities and neighborhoods. A senior fellow with the Center for Community Progress in Washington DC, he has worked at the Brookings Institution and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, taught at Rutgers University and Stockton State University, lectured at universities in the United States, Europe, Japan, China and Israel, and held a number of public sector positions, including serving as director of housing & economic development for the city of Trenton, New Jersey.

Alan’s latest book, written with Todd Swanstrom, is America’s Changing Neighborhoods: The Meaning of Place in the 21st Century, which explores the value of neighborhoods in today’s cities and the many challenges they face. Other recent works include Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World: Learning to Live without Growth, and The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America. His 2006 book, Bringing Buildings Back: From Vacant Properties to Community Assets, has become a resource for thousands of planners, lawyers, public officials and community leaders dealing with problem property and revitalization issues. 

Alan is also an accomplished pianist and author of two well-received books on 19th century Italian opera. He holds a B.A. degree from Yale College and has lived for the past forty years in Roosevelt, New Jersey.