Abel Valenzuela, Jr.: Professor , Chicana and Chicano Studies
Contact Information: 7365 Bunche, 310.206.8224, abel@ucla.edu
Director,  Center for the Study of Urban Poverty, 310.825.9156

 

 
Current Area of Research
Professor Valenzuela holds a joint appointment in the Department of Urban Planning and the César E. Chávez Department for Chicana/o Studies.  His research is primarily concerned with the issues faced by minorities and immigrants in the U.S.  His work focuses on three key interrelated areas: 1) immigration and labor markets, 2) poverty and inequality, and 3) immigrant settlement patterns.  His work combines ethnographic, in-depth interviews, participant observation, and quantitative methods to document and explain the processes that govern the incorporation of immigrants to the U.S. Professor Valenzuela is currently working on further publishing articles and completing a manuscript on day labor in a national context. His groundbreaking work on day labor continues to drive his primary research agenda. In addition, Professor Valenzuela is undertaking research on non-union supermarket janitors (subcontractors), immigrant-serving community based organizations, and the organizing campaigns of security guards and car wash attendants.

At UCLA, Professor Valenzuela Directs the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty, teaches courses on labor and employment, immigration and U.S. society, urban poverty and public policy, and planning issues in minority communities. He is also the Chair of the University of California Committee on Latino Research. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and lives in Venice with his wife and two sons.

Education
[Ph.D., Urban and Regional Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993.] 
[MC.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988.]
[B.A., Social Science Major, University of California at Berkeley, 1986.] 
[Dissertation: Immigrants, Minority Workers, and Job Competition: A Comparative Analysis of New York and Los Angeles, 1970-1980.] 

Selected Publications

Bobo, Lawrence, James Johnson, Jr., Melvin Oliver, and Abel Valenzuela, Jr. (eds.), 2000. Prismatic Metropolis:Inequality in Los Angeles.Russell Sage Foundation. New York, NY.
Valenzuela, Jr. Abel. 2003. “Day-Labor Work.” Annual Review of Sociology . 29(1):307-333

Valenzuela, Jr. Abel and Darnell Hunt. 2004. “Labor and Spanish-Language Broadcasters: Top Ratings, Second-Class Status.” Working USA: The Journal of Labor and Society . 7(4):78-102.

Valenzuela, Jr. Abel, Lisa Schweitzer, and Adriele Robles. 2005. “ Camionetas: Informal Travel Among Immigrants.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice . Vol. 39, Issue 10: 895-911.

Martinez, Jr., Ramiro and Abel Valenzuela Jr. (eds.) 2006. Immigration and Crime: Ethnicity, Race, and Violence. New York: New York University Press.

Valenzuela, Jr. Abel, Nik Theodore, Edwin Melendez, and Ana Luz Gonzalez. 2006. “On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States.” Technical Report, UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty.

Courses
Chicano Studies 10B," Introduction to Chicana/Chicano Studies: Social Structure and Contemporary Conditions." ( Winter 2001, Winter 2003, Winter 2007 )
Chicano Studies 19-2," Fiat Lux Freshman Seminars Chicano Studies 19, seminar 2: On the Corner: Searching for and Working Day Labor." ( Fall 2006 )
Chicano Studies 101," Theoretical Concepts in Chicana and Chicano Studies." (Winter 2002)
Chicano Studies 120," Immigration and the Chicano Community."( Fall 1999, Fall 2000, Spring 2006 )
Chicano Studies 122," Planning Issues in Latina/Latino Communities."(Winter 2000, Spring 2001 )
[Urban data analysis] 

[Planning Issues in Minority Communities] 
[Urban Labor Markets]
[Hnrs 7A-Urban poverty & Public Policy in the US]  

[Hnrs 7B-Urban poverty & Public Policy in the US]