Becky Nicolaides
Suburban Expert. Historian. Consultant.
Becky Nicolaides is a historian and expert on American suburbs. Her latest book, The New Suburbia: How Diversity Remade Suburban Life in Los Angeles After 1945 (Oxford, 2024) traces how the suburbs transitioned from lily-white to multiracial and reveals the compelling stories that unfolded through that change.
Becky has consulted on numerous public history projects, films, and podcasts, she served on the LA Mayor’s Working Group on Civic Memory, and she is part of a transnational group of scholars studying suburbanism in the EU and US. She is a co-founder of History Studio, a partnership of award-winning scholars providing expert research, script vetting, and original content for the entertainment industry.
She is launching an initiative to help suburbs seeking to foster inclusive, welcoming communities, using The Suburb Toolkit. She gives talks to community groups about the history and future of our suburbs.
Eaton Fire news and support
Like thousands of my neighbors in Altadena, I lost my home in the Eaton fire on January 7. We have been devastated by this loss, for our family, our neighbors, and our beautiful community. Click here to see the full extent of the damage.
If you’d like to donate to help fire victims please read this article - which emphasizes the importance of giving to local sources. We’ve received direct aid from the Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse, my short-lived GoFundMe, and numerous friends and family who have cooked us dinners, helped assemble furniture, and otherwise showered us with TLC. We’re so grateful for this support.
The New Suburbia
How Diversity Remade Suburban Life in Los Angeles after 1945
Becky’s Latest News
Upcoming Events
February 8, 2025 | “Reflections on The New Suburbia & The Eaton Fire in Altadena,” Q&A with Becky Nicolaides and Rachel Heiman, Seaside Institute Symposium, Seaside, FL.
March 6, 2025 | “The New Suburbia” book talk, Departments of History, American Studies, and College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley.
March 7, 2025, 12-1:30 | “Reflections on The New Suburbia,” American Political History Seminar, Institute for Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley.
June date TBD | “Mapping community at the grassroots,” Autry After Hours, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles.
Oct 9-12, 2025 | Becky will be on various panels and will co-lead a van tour of LA suburbia, with Andrew Wiese, Urban History Association conference, Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles.
Book News
Featured articles, websites, interviews
Co-author, Historical Housing and Land Use Study, City of Los Angeles | Sept 20, 2024
To Understand What Could Happen on Election Day, Understand the Suburbs | Time Magazine August 15, 2024
Blog: Living Black in Lakewood: Rewriting the History and Future of an Iconic Suburb | OUPblog, January 17, 2024.
Op-Ed: Can’t afford a house in L.A.? Here’s how that happened | Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2023
Becky’s projects and events
EU Erasmus+ Transnational Suburbanism, with Andy Wiese in Essen, Germany
Community Engagement:
All Saints Church Pasadena