Virginia Parks
Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy
Faculty Director, UCI Labor Center
School of Social Ecology
University of California, Irvine
Office: Social Ecology 1, Suite 300
Phone: 949.824.4384
Email
Education
PhD, Geography, University of California Los Angeles, 2002
MA, Urban Planning, University of California Los Angeles, 1997
BA, History and Humanities, University of Colorado Boulder, 1993
Research Statement
Virginia Parks, PhD, is a geographer and urban planner specializing in the study of urban inequality. Her research and teaching interests include labor and employment, racial and gender inequality, urban politics and policy, and local economic development. Professor Parks has published research on the racial wage gap, low-wage work, immigrant employment patterns, public sector jobs, workplace diversity, job training, commuting disparities, and the politics of urban development. Throughout this work Professor Parks is motivated by how urban space, politics, and regulatory environments influence inequality outcomes.
Her current research analyzes the economic effects of the clean energy transition on workers and regional economies.