​Joel Rogers is the Sewell-Bascom Professor of Law, Political Science, Public Affairs, and Sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he directs COWS, a national research and practice center on high-road development that operates the Mayors Innovation Project (MIP) and, with Smart Growth America, the State Smart Transportation Initiative and ProGov21. He has written widely on party politics, democratic theory, and cities and urban regions. He has worked with and advised many politicians and social movement leaders and has initiated and/or helped lead several progressive NGOs.