Erualdo R. González, Ph.D. 

education

2006 Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning, University of California, Irvine, Emphasis: Community Health Planning

2002 M.A. in Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine

1997 B.A. Psychology and Chicano Studies; Minor in Alcohol and Drug Studies, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles

 

BIOGRAPHY

Erualdo González is a Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies and the inaugural Coordinator of the Tech and Civic Scholars Program, a college initiative that prepares students for leadership roles in urban and public affairs policy nonprofits. An interdisciplinary urbanist and collaborative researcher, he focuses on participatory planning, revitalization policy, and gentrification, with a commitment to social justice for materially deprived and culturally marginalized communities in urban governance. He is the co-editor of Gentrification, Displacement, and Alternative Futures (Routledge, 2022) and the author of Latino City: Urban Planning, Politics, and the Grassroots (Routledge, 2017), which critically examines downtown commercial gentrification and the ways business owners and grassroots groups define and resist spatial alienation. He has also published on environmental justice, health justice, and participatory action research. His work in leading journals such as Journal of Planning Education and Research, Urban Affairs Review, and Environment and Planning A.

Erualdo has conducted research and evaluation linking health, urban planning, and public policy, with publications on environmental justice, health justice, and participatory action research. With over 25 years of experience in program evaluation and strategic planning, he has contributed to major initiatives, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Communities Creating Healthy Environments and the California Wellness Foundation’s Building Healthy Communities Initiative.

His achievements include the Thought Leadership Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and recognition as an Exemplary Diversity Scholar by the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan. He is also a 2024-2025 participant in the Volker Alliance Future Leaders of Schools of Public Service program.

Erualdo’s dedication to urban research, public policy, and social justice stems from his experiences growing up in a working-class Mexican immigrant household in Santa Ana, California—a culturally rich city confronting urban and economic challenges. His family roots in Mezquital del Oro, Zacatecas, and Huisquilco, Jalisco, and early exposure to infrastructural disparities and political neglect in these pueblos shaped his lifelong dedication to studying and addressing structural inequities.

Erualdo holds a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning and an M.A. in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine.

 

Areas of Expertise

• Community development and urban health
• Gentrification
• Public policy
• Nonprofits, power dynamics, local governance
• Program evaluation
• Community-based and collaborative research
• Discourse analysis
• Latinx urbanism, Mexican and immigrant communities

 

In the News

Erualdo González and UCIrvine colleagues co-edit a book on gentrification.

Erualdo Gonzalez delivers a seminar on his book Latino City at USC’s Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis & Urban Growth.

New Book Looks at Redevelopment Battles over Santa Ana Becoming “Latino City.”

An Interview with Erualdo Gonzalez, author of Latino City (podcast)

 

PUBLICATIONS

*Student mentee or nonprofit partner

 

Books

González, E. R., *M. E. Zuñiga, *A. C. Hernandez, and R. Torres, eds. 2022. Gentrification,  Displacement, and Alternative Futures . Routledge.

González, E. R. 2017. Latino City: Urban Planning, Politics, and the Grassroots . Routledge. 

 

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Muñiz, J., I. García, and E. R. González. 2024. “Rights Amidst Commercial Gentrification: A Comparative Case Study of Latinx Business Zones in Chicago and Santa Ana.” Planning Practice & Research 39(6), 994-1011.

Lejano, R. P., and E. R. González. 2016. “Sorting Through Differences: The Problem of Planning as Reimagination.” Journal of Planning Education and Research 37 (1): 5-17. 

González, E. R., and C. Irazabal. 2015. “Emerging Issues in Planning: Ethno-Racial Intersections [Special issue].” Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability 20 (6): 600-610. 

Pollack, K. M, E. R. González, E. R. Hager, and J. F. Sallis. 2014. “The Active Living Research 2014 Conference: ‘Niche to Norm’ [Special issue].” Preventive Medicine 69 (Supplement 1): S1-4. 

González, E. R., and M. Mouttapa. 2013. “Urban Revitalization and Health Justice: Questions and Recommendations.” Californian Journal of Health Promotion 11 (2): iv-vii. 

González, E. R., C. S. Sarmiento, *A. S. Urzúa, and *S. C. Luévano. 2012. “The Grassroots and New Urbanism: A Case from a Southern California Latino Community.” Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability 5 (2-3): 219-239. 

González E. R., S. Villanueva, and C. N. Grills. 2012. “Communities Creating Healthy Environments to Combat Obesity: Preliminary Evaluation Findings from Two Case Studies.” Californian Journal of Health Promotion 10: 88-98. 

González, E. R. 2012. “Health Disparities in Latino Communities [Special issue]” Californian Journal of Health Promotion 10: v-viii. 

González, E. R., and R. P. Lejano. 2009. “New Urbanism and the Barrio.” Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 41 (12): 2946-2963.

González, E. R., R. P. Lejano, G. Vidales, R. F. Conner, *Y. Kidokoro, *F. Bahram, and *R. Cabrales. 2007. “Participatory Action Research for Environmental Health: Encountering Freire in the Urban Barrio.” Journal of Urban Affairs 29 (1): 77-100. 

 

Book Chapters

González, E. R., and T. Seeley. 2022. “Commercial Gentrification in a Downtown ‘Made in Mexico’: The Case of Santa Ana in Southern California, 1980-2011.” In Gentrification, Displacement, and Alternative Futures, edited by González E. R, *M. E. Zuñiga, *A. C. Hernandez, and Rodolfo Torres. Routledge. 

Torres, R., and E. R. Gonzalez. 2022. “Introduction.” In Gentrification, Displacement, and Alternative Futures, edited by González, E. R, *M. E. Zuñiga, *A. C. Hernandez, and Rodolfo Torres. Routledge.

González, E.R. 2019. “Latino Urbanism and the Gentrifying City.” In The Oxford Handbook of Latino Studies, edited by Stavans, I. Oxford University Press. 

*Londoño, J., and E. R. González. 2015. “The Changing Politics of Latino Consumption: Debates related to Downtown Santa Ana’s New Urbanist and Creative City Redevelopment.” In Race and Retail: Consumption Across the Color Line, edited by Bay, E. M., and Ann Fabian. Rutgers University Press. 

González. E. R. and *L. Guadiana. 2012. “Culture-Led Downtown Regeneration or Creative Gentrification?” In The Routledge Companion to Urban Regeneration, edited by Leary, E. M. and John McCarthy. Routledge. 

 

Book Reviews

González, E. R. 2017. “Revisiting the Politics of Planning and Action in Latino Urban America.” Review of Latino Urbanism: The Politics of Planning, Policy, and Redevelopment, by David, R. Diaz, and Rodolfo Torres (eds.), Latin American Perspectives 44 (3): 198-201. 

González, E. R. 2007. “Review of Frameworks for Policy Analysis: Merging Text and Context.” Review of Frameworks for Policy Analysis: Merging Text and Context, by Raul P. Lejano, Frontera Norte 19 (38): 233-237. 

 

Research Reports and Public Scholarship

González, E.R., and C. S. Sarmiento. 2023. Amplifying Resilience, Unveiling Economic Hardships: Insights from Orange County Workers and Community Residents. Prepared for Cooperación Santa Ana and THRIVE Santa Ana Community Land Trust, Inc.

Orange County Grantmakers. 2022. Beyond Equity: Seeking Liberation, Autonomy, and Justice in Orange County. [Conducted a literature review and was an Advisory Committee member]. 

Sarmiento, S. C., and E. R. González. 2018. Community Land Trust Development: Results from the Walnut and Daisy Neighborhood Survey in Santa Ana, CA. Prepared for THRIVE Santa Ana Community Land Trust, Inc.

González, E.R, and C. S. Sarmiento. 2017. The Gentrification of Santa Ana: From Origin to Resistance , KCET Website.

González, E.R. 2011. Mission Hospital Community Needs Assessment: Findings from South Orange County Community Forums. Santa Ana. Prepared for Mission Hospital-St. Joseph Health System Foundation.

Conner, R., González, E. R., and S. P. Tanjasiri. 2003. Retrospective Evaluation of The Paso del Norte Health Foundation’s Healthy Communities initiative. Irvine. Prepared for The Paso del Norte Health Foundation.