Amy Spring
Associate Professor Gerontology, Sociology- Education
Ph.D., University of Washington, 2014
M.A., University of Washington, 2009
B.A., Western Washington University, 2006
- Specializations
Demography; Community & Urban Sociology; Residential Mobility; Urban Stratification & Inequality; Environmental Sociology; Family; Health & Life Course; Quantitative Methods
- Biography
Dr. Spring is a demographer and urban sociologist whose research centers on neighborhood context, residential mobility, and spatial inequality. She joined the Sociology Department in 2015 after completing her Ph.D. from the University of Washington and a research fellowship at UW’s Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology.
Her current work investigates how social networks, residential histories, and contextual circumstances influence residential decisions, including not only whether to move, but also where, how far, and to what type of neighborhood. She is particularly interested in how these residential selection mechanisms produce and reinforce broader patterns of spatial inequality, including residential segregation and economic disparities, and contribute to “neighborhood effects” on health and well-being. Her findings show that family networks are very influential in determining who moves (Demography; Journal of Marriage & Family; Social Science Research) and explaining racial/ethnic disparities in residential mobility (Social Science Research). Moreover, processes of residential selection contribute to neighborhood effects on health (The Gerontologist) and neighborhood attainment over the life course (American Sociological Review). Her findings also reveal differences in mobility processes among sub-groups, including mixed-race couples (Demography) and same-sex partners (Population Research and Policy Review), highlighting how residential experiences intersect with social statuses and identities. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Spring is currently a faculty affiliate in the Urban Studies Institute and the Gerontology Institute at Georgia State University. She also serves on the external review board for the Atlanta Research Data Center and on the editorial board of City & Community.
Dr. Spring teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in urban sociology, environmental sociology, sociology of neighborhoods, statistics, and research methods.
- Publications
Selected Publications:
For a complete list of publications, see Dr. Spring’s profile on Google Scholar.
Spring, Amy, Elizabeth Ackert, Sarah Davis Roche, Dionne Parris, Kyle Crowder, and Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz. 2023. “Keeping kin close? The changing geography of family networks by race and income, 1981-2017.” Journal of Marriage and Family. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12911
Spring, Amy, Clara H. Mulder, Michael J. Thomas, and Thomas J. Cooke. 2021. “Migration after union dissolution in the United States: The role of non-resident family.” Social Science Research 96: 102539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102539
Spring, Amy, and Kayla Charleston. 2021 “Gentrification and the shifting geography of male same-sex couples”. Population Research and Policy Review 40: 1163-1194. doi:10.1007/s11113-020-09625-4.
Spring, Amy. 2021. “Breaking down segregation: Shifting geographies of male same-sex households within desegregating cities.” In Alex Bitterman and Daniel Baldwin Hess (eds.), The Life and Afterlife of Gay Neighborhoods: Resurgence and Renaissance. Springer.
Ackert, Elizabeth S., Amy Spring, Kyle Crowder, and Scott J. South. 2019. “Kin location as an explanation for racial/ethnic disparities in exiting and entering poor neighborhoods.” Social Science Research 84: 102-346. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.102346.
Gabriel, Ryan, and Amy Spring. 2019. “Neighborhood diversity, neighborhood affluence: An analysis of the neighborhood destination choices of mixed-race couples with children.” Demography 56(3): 1051-1073. doi:10.1007/s13524-019-00779-1.
Spring, Amy. 2018. “Short- and long-term impacts of neighborhood built environment on self-rated health of older adults.” The Gerontologist 58(1): 36-46. doi:10.1093/geront/gnx119.
Spring, Amy, Elizabeth S. Ackert, Kyle Crowder, and Scott J. South. 2017. “Influences of proximity to kin on residential mobility and destination choice: Examining local movers in metropolitan areas.” Demography 54(4): 1277-1304. doi:10.1007/s13524-017-0587-x.
South, Scott J., Ying Huang, Amy Spring, and Kyle Crowder. 2016. “Neighborhood attainment over the adult life course.” American Sociological Review 81(6): 1276-1304. doi:10.1177/0003122416673029.
Hall, Matthew, Kyle Crowder, and Amy Spring. 2015. “Neighborhood foreclosures, racial/ethnic transitions, and residential segregation.” American Sociological Review (80)3: 526-549. doi:10.1177/0003122415581334.
Spring, Amy. 2013. “Declining segregation of same-sex partners: Evidence from Census 2000 and 2010.” Population Research and Policy Review 32(5): 687-716. doi 10.1007/s11113-013-9280-y