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 gives talks to community groups about the history and future of our suburbs.

Learn more about Becky

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, the Episcopal Diocese, the SAG Foundation, 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.

These local organizations have been doing exceptionally good work:
The Greenline Housing Foundation
Altadena Collective
Altadena Heritage

The New Suburbia

How Diversity Remade Suburban Life in Los Angeles after 1945

Learn more

Becky’s Latest News

Events and news

Two awards announced for the “Historical Housing and Land Use Study” for the City of Los Angeles - which I co-wrote:
- 2025 Los Angeles Conservancy Project Award
- 2025 Preservation Design Award for Cultural Resource Studies, from the California Preservation Foundation
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.