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 layoff effects on workers, racial wage inequality, immigrant employment patterns, public sector jobs, job training, 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.