Research interests

Emily has particular research interests in migration and migrant labour, low wage and informal work, racial equity in labour markets, and job quality and access. As an urban planner, Emily is particularly interested in how labour markets and public policy can shape local community development. Emily utilises mixed methods ranging from focus groups and semi structured interviews to case studies and surveys.

Academic profile

Emily Erickson joined the Warwick Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick in May 2022. Before joining IER, Emily worked as an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning at Alabama A&M University where she taught and supervised undergraduate and postgraduate students. While there, Emily served as Principal Investigator on a project examining job quality and employment access in the U.S. South. Other research includes mobility and commute patterns among minority ethnic groups, and studies examining workers in low-wage industries such as carwashes and resorts.

Current projects

• Barriers to good work; with Chris Warhurst, Jamelia Harris and Sangwoo Lee; Funder: ACAS; Project Duration: Dec 2023 - April 2024

• A Comparison of Apprenticeship Costs in Germany England and Austria; with Terence Hogarth; Funder: Gatsby Foundation; Project Duration: January 2024 - February 2025

• UK veterans from ethnic minority backgrounds, with Gaby Atfield, Beate Baldauf, David Owen and Andreana Glendinning; Funded by the Office for Veterans' Affairs, Project duration: April 2022 - August 2023

• Maximising productivity through managing new technology, with Peter Dickinson, Funded by WMCA, Project duration: September 2022 - May 2023

• The role and impact of employment charters and procurement by subnational authorities to achieve good work standards; with Peter Dickinson and Dr Katharina Sarter, Funded by the University of Warwick; Project duration: October 2022 - June 2023

All projects

Selected publications

Erickson, E. and Herbert, B. (2023). Job quality and community well-being in Mississippi and Alabama's manufacturing facilities. Jobs to Move America.

Dickinson, P., and Erickson, E. (2022). Profiling employers involved in Apprenticeship Trailblazer groups. Gatsby Foundation.

Berglund, Lisa and Emily Erickson. Transportation justice is needed throughout the supply chain. Progressive City Magazine. August 2021. Erickson, Emily (2021).

Are Good Jobs Possible In The Deep South: Report on Anniston, Alabama A Southern Manufacturing Community. Available from https://jobstomoveamerica.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/03/are-good-jobs-possible-in-the-deep-south-erickson-march2021.pdf

Berglund, Lisa, Emily Erickson, and Hugo Saramiento (2017). A Report on the PhD Experience: Calling for a Dialogue on Diversity, Labor Practices, and the Future of Social Justice Scholarship. Critical Planning Journal, 23. Available from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4k7996m5 Erickson, Emily,

Victor Narro, Janna Shadduck Hernandez and Abel Valenzuela Jr. (2016). Conveying Carwash Owners’ Stories: Competition, Diversity and Growth in the Southern California Carwash Industry. UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education. Available from https://www.labor.ucla.edu/publication/carwash-owners/ Valenzuela, Abel and Emily Erickson

All publications

All conference presentations

Teaching

Alabama A&M University Department of Community & Regional Planning:

Undergraduate Courses

• Cities of the World (Spring 2022) – New course development, offered asynchronously
• The Community & You (Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021) - Developed for asynchronous delivery 2020
• Social Equity in Planning (Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021) - Developed for asynchronous delivery 2020
• Demographic Analysis (Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021)
• Practicum I (Spring 2020)
• Senior Project (Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019)
• Urban Economic Analysis (Fall 2017)

Graduate courses:

• Urban Economics (Fall 2018, Fall 2019)
• Fundamentals of Planning (Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019)
• Terminal Research Proposal (Spring 2018)