About

Karen Umemoto is a Professor in the UCLA Asian American Studies Department and holds the Helen and Morgan Chu Endowed Director’s Chair of the Asian American Studies Center. Her research centers on issues of democracy and social justice in multicultural societies, with a particular focus on US cities. She examines planning processes that include diverse voices, acknowledge different ways of knowing, and facilitate meaningful deliberations, addressing structural, procedural, and relational obstacles to achieving a just and democratic society. Her work emphasizes social inclusion, participatory democracy, and political transformation. Umemoto’s recent research has focused on the overrepresentation of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander youth in Hawai‘i’s juvenile justice system. She co-authored an award-winning book, 'Jacked up and unjust: Pacific Islander teens confront violent legacies,' which features ethnographic youth narratives and critiques punitive juvenile justice policies, advocating for healing and restorative practices. She has also worked on juvenile justice reform initiatives as a researcher, evaluator, planner, and advocate. Currently, her research explores the history of placemaking in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo and she serves as Co-Editor/Co-Director of 'Foundations and Futures,' a multimedia textbook on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Her academic background includes an MA in Asian American Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Urban Studies from MIT.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• History
• Computer Science
• Public relations
• Ancient history
• Economic history
• Gender studies
• Nursing
• Archaeology
• World Wide Web
• Medicine
• Law

Selected publications

• Fault Lines and Atmospheric Shifts: Understanding Temporal Spikes in Racially Motivated Hate Crimes in Los Angeles County

  American Journal of Criminal Justice · 2025-08-15 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  This paper explores the narratives and underlying dynamics of two peak periods of racially motivated hate crime in Los Angeles County. Utilizing a multi-method, grounded theory approach to 20 years of data from the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, we highlight two distinct peaks in 2007 and 2022. The first peak can largely be attributed to localized conflicts emphasizing the interplay between institutional and socioeconomic racial divisions. The second peak is characterized by a broader set of conditions, including heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric, political polarization, and the societal strains of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interaction of local, regional, and national factors and their subsequent effects on hate crimes are analyzed, revealing that racially motivated hate crimes are multifaceted and driven by both material and discursive factors and interactions. We use the metaphors of “fault lines” and “atmospheric shifts” to suggest a broader theoretical frame that draws connections between hate crimes and larger social phenomena and social histories. This comprehensive exploration provides crucial insights into the rise in racially motivated hate crimes and suggests a need for broad solutions and policies to address the roots of racial antagonism.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Inspirations in Planning

  Planning Theory & Practice · 2025-01-01

  article

  10.1080/14649357.2025.2474336

  PublisherDOI

• Lessons Learned From TranslateCovid, a Multilingual Online Resource Hub for Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities and Beyond

  Public Health Reports · 2024 · 2 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Public relations

  The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health disparities among immigrant communities. Delivering accurate information and addressing misinformation on protective measures and vaccination to linguistically disadvantaged groups was critical for mitigating the effects of the pandemic. One group that was especially vulnerable to miscommunication about COVID-19 was non-native English-speaking immigrants. To address these disparities, the Asian American Studies Center and the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, partnered to create a multilingual resource hub, TranslateCovid.org, to disseminate credible and reliable information about COVID-19 safety measures, the science behind the vaccines, and vaccine safety. We identified >1300 verified resources in 60 languages from government, academic, and nonprofit organizations and reposted them on the TranslateCovid website. We also developed public service announcement videos on handwashing, use of face masks, and social distancing in 10 languages and a fact sheet for frequently asked questions in 20 languages. We used a participatory approach to develop strategies for disseminating these resources. We discuss lessons learned, including strategies for forming government, community, and academic partnerships to support the timely development and dissemination of information. We conclude with a discussion on the unique role of universities in promoting equitable access to public health resources among immigrant communities in times of crisis.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Foundations and Futures : Imagining Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies in Every Home

  Journal of Asian American Studies · 2023-06-01

  article

  This article describes an effort to create an open-access, scholar-informed, teacher-tested online multimedia textbook for teachers, students, and lifelong learners in anticipation of a growing demand to learn about Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Informed by over fifty years of ethnic studies and urgent demands for open access educational resources, the development of an online multimedia textbook on Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences, entitled Foundations and Futures, represents a nationwide collaboration of scholars and teachers spearheaded by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. The Vietnamese American chapter provides an example of collaboration between scholars, K–12 teachers, curriculum and media experts, designers and technologists.

  PublisherDOI

• Chapter 2 HO‘OPONO MAMO AND RESTORATIVE PRACTICES Reflections on Scholar Activism in Juvenile Justice Systems Change

  University of Washington Press eBooks · 2022-12-31

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Implications for a System of Care in Hawai'i for Youth Involved in the Justice System and Substance Use.

  PubMed · 2022-12-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The shift from punitive responses to restorative public health approaches to tackle the problem of youth substance use and justice system involvement follow a nationwide trend. Hawai'i has made significant strides towards transforming the justice system and developing effective substance abuse programs. However, these efforts require changes in policies, practices, and paradigms to be fully and permanently realized. Such a philosophical shift requires a major reallocation of resources from downstream, high-cost punitive modalities, such as incarceration, to upstream solutions that allow adolescents to heal past trauma and grow the understanding and tools to lead a healthy and meaningful life. Research and evaluation to support ongoing learning and system improvement will also be required. Most critically, taking an approach to work with youth so they can overcome the root problems they face holds the most promise of ending the cycle of justice involvement and substance use that the state has witnessed for far too long.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Calling Nikkei to Empire: Diaspora and trans/nationalism in the redevelopment of historic Little Tokyo

  Journal of Historical Geography · 2021 · 3 citations

  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • History

  Diasporas often play an underappreciated role in the movement of transnational capital in processes of urban place-making. In this case study, we tell a story of the ways in which Japanese international investment in the redevelopment of Los Angeles's historic Little Tokyo was negotiated by Japanese American community members. Archival research and a rare analysis of both Japanese and Japanese American redevelopment histories reveals a complex spatial politics characterized by both acceptance and refusal of Japanese corporations moving to develop the community as a symbol of Japan's post-war resurgence. This analysis brings to light the ways in which contentious micro-politics, driven by renewed transnational ethnic ties, can mediate immense urban economic transitions in neighborhoods facing crisis. Our conclusions reflect back upon planning and research concerning internationally financed development efforts in minority neighborhoods, calling for rigorous analysis of cultural identity and its spatial implications.

  PublisherDOI

• 1. “On Strike!” San Francisco State College Strike, 1968–1969: The Role of Asian American Students

  New York University Press eBooks · 2020 · 3 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Political Science
  • Economic history
  PublisherDOI

• 3. The Geography of Multiple Publics in Venice

  Cornell University Press eBooks · 2019-03-14

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• 7. Mediators: Negotiation from Within

  Cornell University Press eBooks · 2019-03-14

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Katherine Irwin

  University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

  18 shared

• Earl S. Hishinuma

  University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

  10 shared

• Leonie Sandercock

  Vancouver Community College

  9 shared

• Aftab Erfan

  6 shared

• Michelle C. Kondo

  Northern Research Station

  6 shared

• Susana Helm

  University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

  5 shared

• S Shea

  University of California, Los Angeles

  4 shared

• Christy M. Nishita

  University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

  4 shared

Awards & honors

• IPPY Award for Mountain Movers: Student Activism and the Eme…
• Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) and the…
• American Sociological Association, Asian American Book Award…
• Robert O. Clopton Award for Community Service, University of…
• ACSP Planners of Color Interest Group Service Award, 2011