Carl Abbott

Carl Abbott (born December 3, 1944) is an American urban historian with research interests in the modern American West, the Sun Belt, Portland, and the cultural imagination of cities, and he is professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Portland State University.

He served as president of the Urban History Association and of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association, and has co-edited both the Journal of the American Planning Association and Pacific Historical Review.

Early life and education Abbott was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on December 3, 1944, and earned a B.A. in history from Swarthmore College in 1966 before completing an M.A. (1967) and Ph.D. (1971) at the University of Chicago. (1971–72), Old Dominion University (1972–78), and Portland State University (1978–2012). He has also held visiting positions at Mesa University, George Washington University, and the University of Oregon.

He served as president of the Urban History Association (1995), has been a member of the American Historical Association since 1982 Other professional service has included co-editorship of the journal of the American Planning Association from 1999 to 2004 and of the Pacific Historical Review from 1997 to 2014.

Writing Abbott has authored or co-authored sixteen books. The Metropolitan Frontier: Cities in the Modern American West (1993) received the book award of the Urban History Association and Political Terrain: Washington D.C. from Tidewater Town to Global Metropolis (1999) received the book award of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History.

Abbott is also active in fields of public history, working with Portland's Architectural Heritage Center, The Oregon Encyclopedia, the Oregon Historical Society, and other organizations and is an advocate of community-based history.