James H. (Jim) Spencer is an Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and of Political Science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Director of the Globalization Research Center. His scholarly research focuses on urban environmental and inequality issues in the US and in Southeast Asia. In particular, his published work addresses water and sanitation governance and finance, environmental security (infectious disease, natural resource tenure and access), as well urban development policy, neighborhood change, ethnicity/race and violence. His applied research and training includes work with the Ford Foundation, the European Commission, The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the City of Los Angeles, and numerous NGOs on urban policy, planning and development issues. He has also served on Hawaii 2050, the State Legislative Task Force for Sustainable Development, and served as an adviser for the Royal Government of Cambodia and municipal governments in Viet Nam. Dr. Spencer's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Social Science Research Council, and the Ford Foundation, among others. His undergraduate degree is from Amherst College, his M.E.M. is from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and his PhD in urban planning is from UCLA.

Faculty host: Dr. David Dowall.