Barbara Brown Wilson’s research and teaching focus on the ethics, theory, and practice of sustainable community design and development, and on the history of urban social movements. Wilson's current research projects include understanding how grassroots community networks reframe public infrastructure in more climate and culturally appropriate ways across the U.S., and helping to elevate the standards of evaluation for community engaged design around notions of social and ecological justice. Her research is often change-oriented—she collaborates with real community partners to identify opportunities for engaged and integrated sustainable development. She is a member of the Equity Collective, whose work is currently featured in the Cooper Hewitt Museum's By the People: Designing a Better America Exhibition. Alongside Architect Jeana Ripple, Wilson is coordinating the community engaged aspects of the Public Art Installation for the ArtHouse Social Kitchen Project in Gary, Indiana. She is also working, as a researcher, an educator, and a board member of the Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) with their leadership to identify venues where PHA residents can more actively engage in and shape their communities. In those collective posts, Wilson is serving as a resource ally to PHA's new Youth Leadership in Land Use program that brings in resident youth from Friendship Court as valued members of the design team for the Redevelopment project currently underway in their neighborhood.

She is a Cofounder of the Design Futures Student Leadership Forum, a five day student leadership training which convenes students and faculty from a consortium of universities with leading practitioners all working to elevate the educational realms of community engaged design; and a Cofounder of the Austin Community Design and Development Center (ACDDC), a nonprofit design center that provides high quality green design and planning services to lower income households and the organizations that serve them.