Arthur I. Blaustein has taught community and economic development and urban policy at the Department of City and Regional Planning since 1984. He also has held joint appointments at American Studies and the Department of African-American Studies where he has taught public policy, social history and politics. Professor Blaustein's areas of research are community and economic development, poverty and civic engagement/community service. He presently serves as chair of the Editorial Board of the Progressive Book Club.

Prior to teaching Professor Blaustein was director of the National Economic Development and Law Center. The center was the largest public interest planning, policy and law center in the country in the field of community and economic development. During his fourteen-year tenure the center helped establish over 450 community development corporations (CDC's) throughout the nation. Most were urban but many were rural and on Native American reservations. In addition to providing hands-on policy and planning assistance Professor Blaustein wrote enabling federal and state legislation and formulated a comprehensive strategy for the community economic development movement.

In 1977 President Jimmy Carter appointed Professor Blaustein to be Chairman of the National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity. The Council had the responsibility for recommending to the President and Congress policies and programs related to social policy, community and economic development and anti-poverty strategies. In 1997 President Bill Clinton appointed Professor Blaustein to the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities for a six-year term. The committee that Professor Blaustein served on had the responsibility for grants for libraries, universities, museums, NPR and PBS.

Professor Blaustein has written extensively for magazines and newspaper syndications, including Harper's, Saturday Review, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Los Angeles Times and Knight-Ridder, as well as for academic and professional journals.