Prentiss's research interests include urban poverty and inequality, neighborhood change and community development practice. His studies focus on aspects of housing and residential mobility, racial politics, and public policy within urban areas. Prentiss has forthcoming papers entitled, "Exclusionary Zoning: State & Local Reactions to the Mount Laurel Doctrine" in The Urban Lawyer Journal and a review essay in the Journal of Urban History entitled, "Agency in Policing the Poor: Protecting Social Status and Fortifying Punishment." He currently has three papers under review centered on poverty spells amongst public housing residents; neighborhood satisfaction within a poor, urban area; and the intersections of feminist thought and community activism exemplified by the Black Lives Matter movement.