Dr. Grigsby's research has focused on urban housing, land use, and economic development strategies. An internationally recognized expert in urban development strategies, he is the co-author of Residential Apartheid: The American Legacy, which received the 1996 Gustavus Myers Center Outstanding Book Award, and Regions that Work:  How Cities and Suburbs Can Grow Together.  As director of the Advanced Policy Institute, he works to improve the performance of public agencies, non-profit organizations, and private firms through training programs, technical assistance, and strategic policy conferences. In 1978, Stanford University selected Dr. Grigsby as its first recipient of the United Parcel Services Visiting Scholar Award. He was also the recipient of the 1987 Occidental College Booker T. Washington Outstanding Alumni Award, and the 1996 International House of Blues Foundation Educators Achievement Award.

In addition to his academic post, Dr. Grigsby heads The Planning Group, Inc., an urban planning and management consulting firm he founded in 1972. The firm has conducted planning studies throughout the United States and Canada. He has also received awards of excellence from the American Institute of Architects, and the California and Los Angeles chapters of the American Planning Association.

Dr. Grigsby is a trustee of Occidental College, a member of the American Governing Board of Universities and Colleges, and a past member of the Planning Accreditation Board and of the executive committee of the board of the American Collegiate Schools of Planning. He is a board member of The House of Blues Foundation, the California Hospital Medical Center, Catholic Healthcare West Southern California, and the National Civic League. He sits on the editorial boards of the American Planning Association, the Western Journal of Black Studies, and The Planning Report, and is a past member of the Los Angeles Times Board of Advisors, in which capacity he wrote a regular column on urban economic issues.