Spring 2026 Office Hours
W: 2:00  - 5:00 pm
Or by appointment

Professor Wo’s research and teaching sit at the intersection of criminology, urban sociology, and planning and public affairs, with a particular focus on the spatial and temporal dynamics of crime. His work examines how crime is distributed across neighborhoods and how risk fluctuates within places over time (e.g., across hours, seasons, and years).

His research links crime in place to a range of social-ecological factors, including greenspace, community organizations, topography, walkability, and ethnic heterogeneity, with an emphasis on how neighborhood context shapes patterns of crime and inequality. More broadly, his work contributes to understanding how the built and social environment structure public safety and inform urban policy. He has published in journals such as Criminology, Justice Quarterly, British Journal of Criminology, Crime & Delinquency, Social Science Research, PLOS One, Urban Affairs Review, Journal of Urban Affairs, and Cities.

Professor Wo serves on the editorial boards of Criminology and PLOS One. At the University of Iowa, he is a research affiliate with the Center for Social Science Innovation and holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Planning and Public Affairs. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Division of Communities and Place of the American Society of Criminology.

James Wo CV