October 2018
LELAND T. SAITO
University of Southern California (213) 740-3533
851 Downey Way, HSH 314
Los Angeles, CA 90089
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
8/11-present Associate Professor, USC, Sociology Dept
8/01- 7/11 Associate Professor, USC, Sociology Dept and American Studies &
Ethnicity Dept
7/99-7/01 Associate Professor, UCSD, Ethnic Studies Dept and Urban Studies and
Planning Program
7/92-7/99 Assistant Professor, UCSD, Ethnic Studies Dept and Urban Studies and
Planning Program
EDUCATION
1992 Ph.D. Sociology, UCLA
1989 M.A. Sociology, UCLA
1978 B.A. Sociology, UC Berkeley
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
Race and Ethnic Relations; Asian AmericanStudies; Urban Politics;
Community Studies;Urban Sociology; Qualitative Research Methods.
PUBLICATIONS
Books
2009. The Politics of Exclusion: The Failure of Race-Neutral PoliciesIn Urban America.
Stanford University Press.
(Included in: Eduardo Bonilla-Silva.2013. “Best Books in the Race Field Since 2000.”
Contemporary Sociology 42:1; Co-winner of the 2012 American Sociological Association
Section onAsia and Asian America Book Award; Winner of the 2010 Oliver Cromwell
Cox Book Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Racial and
Ethnic Minorities; Finalist for the 2010 C. Wright Mills Book Award from the Society for
the Study of Social Problems. Honorable Mention for the 2011 Distinguished
Contribution to Scholarship Award,Pacific Sociological Association.)
1998. Race and Politics: Asian Americans, Latinos andWhites in a Los Angeles Suburb.
University of Illinois Press.
(Winner of the 2000 American Sociological Association Section onAsia and Asian
America Book Award.)
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
2018. “Urban Development and the Growth with Equity Framework: The National
League Football Stadium in Downtown Los Angeles.” Urban Affairs Review.
| First Published
Online, January 9. Print version to follow.
2015. “From Whiteness to Colorblindness in Public Polices: Racial Formation
and Urban Development.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 1(1): 37-51. (Invited
paper for the journal’s inaugural edition. Journal of the Section on Racial and
Ethnic Minorities of the American Sociological Association.)
2015. Saito, Leland and Jonathan Truong. “The L.A. Live Community Benefits Agreement:
Evaluating the Agreement Results and Shifting Political Power in the City.”
Urban Affairs Review 51(2): 263-289.(first published online, March 2014)
2012. “How Low-Income Residents Can Benefit from Urban Development: The
LA Live Community Benefits Agreement.” City & Community 11(2):129-150.
2009. “From ‘Blighted’ to ‘Historic’: Race, Economic Development, and Historic
Preservation in San Diego, California.” Urban Affairs Review 45(2):166-187.
2008 “African Americans and Historic Preservation in San Diego: The Douglas and
Clermont/Coast Hotel. Journal of San Diego History (54)1:15.
2006“The Political Significance of Race: Asian American and Latino Redistricting
Debates in California and New York City.” Racial Transformations: Latinos and
Asians Remaking the United States,ed. by Nicholas De Genova. Durham and London:
Duke University Press.
2003“The Politics of Race and Redistricting in California, 2000-2002.” Remapping
Asian American History, ed. by Sucheng Chan. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.
2003“Reclamation and Preservation: The San Diego Chinese Mission, 1927 to 1996.”
The Journal of San Diego History. 49(1):1-20.
2002"The Sedimentation of Political Inequality:Charter Revision and Redistricting in New
YorkCity's Chinatown, 1989-1991. UCLA Asian PacificAmerican Law Journal
8(1):123-145.
2001 Asian Americans and Multiracial PoliticalCoalitions: New York City's Chinatown and
Redistricting, 1990-1991." Asian Americans andPolitics: An Exploration, ed. by
Gordon H.Chang. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
2001 Geron, Kim, Enrique De La Cruz, Leland Saito, and JaideepSingh. "Asian Pacific
Americans SocialMovements and Interest Groups. PS: PoliticalScience and Politics
34(3)619-624.
2001"Asian Pacific Americans and RedistrictingChallenges in 2001." National Asian
PacificAmerican Political Almanac 2001-02, ed. by DonT. Nakanishi and James S. Lai. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
Reprinted in:
Asian American Politics: Law, Participation, and Policy, ed. by DonT. Nakanishi and
James S. Lai. U.S.: Roman and Littlefield Publishers. 2003.
2000 Saito, Leland and Edward Park. "Multiracial Collaborationsand Coalitions." The State
of Asian PacificAmericans: Transforming Race Relations, ed. by Paul Ong. Los
Angeles: LEAP/UCLA AsianPacific American Public Policy Institute.
1998 Beyond Numbers: Asian American and LatinoPolitics in Los Angeles' San Gabriel
Valley." Racial and Ethnic Politics in California,edited by Michael Preston, Bruce
Cain, andSandra Bass. Berkeley: Institute ofGovernmental Studies, UC Berkeley.
Reprinted in:
California Politics & Policy October:29-42. 1998.
1994 Saito, Leland and John Horton. "The New ChineseImmigration and the Rise of Asian
AmericanPolitics in Monterey Park, California." The New Asian Immigration in
Los Angeles and Global Restructuring, edited byPaul Ong, Edna Bonacich, and
LucieCheng.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
1993 "Contrasting Patterns of Adaptation: Japanese Americans and Chinese Immigrants in
MontereyPark." Bearing Dreams, Shaping Visions: Asian Pacific American
Perspectives,edited by Linda Revilla, Shawn Wong, and GailNomura. Pullman,
WA: Washington StateUniversity Press.
1993 "Asian Americans and Latinos in San GabrielValley, California: Ethnic Political
Cooperation and Redistricting 1990-91."Amerasia Journal 19:55-68.
Reprinted in:
Los Angeles—Strugglestoward Multiethnic Community, edited by EdwardChang
and Russell Leong. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 1994.
Reprinted in:
National Asian PacificAmericanPolitical Almanac 1998-99, edited by Don T.
Nakanishi, James S. Lai,and Glenn Omatsu. LosAngeles: UCLA Asian American
Studies Center. 1998.
Reprinted in:
Asian Americans: Experiences andPerspectives, edited by Timothy Fong and Larry
Shinagawa. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 2000.
1989 (published in 1992) "Japanese Americans and the New Chinese Immigrants: The Politics ofAdaptation." California Sociologist 12:195-211.
Reprinted in:
In Asian American InterethnicRelations and Politics, Volume 5 of the series
Asians in America: The Peoples of East,Southeast, and South Asia in American Life
and Culture, edited by Franklin Ng. Hamden, CT:Garland Publishing. 1998.
Revised and reprinted:
“The Politics of Adaptation and the 'GoodImmigrant': Japanese Americans and the
NewChinese Immigrants." Asian and LatinoImmigrants in a Restructuring
Economy: TheMetamorphosis of Southern California, ed. byMarta Lopez-Garza and
David R. Diaz. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 2001.
Book Reviews
2012 How Racism Takes Place, by George Lipsitz, 2011. Journal of American History.
99(2) 683-684.
2001 Ethnic Peace in the AmericanCity: Building Community in Los
Angeles andBeyond, by Edward T. Chang and Jeannette Diaz-Veizades, 1999.
Journal of Asian American Studies 4(1)77-80.
1998 Nisei/Sansei: Shifting Japanese AmericanIdentities and Politics, by Jere Takahashi.
1997. Contemporary Sociology. 27:580-581.
1996 Asian and Pacific Islanders in the UnitedStates, by Barringer, Herbert R., Robert W.
Gardner, and Michael J. Levin. 1993. Journalof American Ethnic History. Winter:
113-114.
Other Writings
2009“Race and Voting in the 32nd Congressional District.” Opinion piece in the
San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper. May 17.
2007 “Economic Redevelopment and the Community Benefits Program: A Case Study
of the L.A. Live Project, A Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District.”
Working paper, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
WORK IN PROGRESS
Saito, Leland. “The Politics of Race and Development in Downtown Los Angeles.” Book manuscript.
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2014-2015 Haynes Foundation Faculty Fellowship
2014-2015 University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate Research Grant
2012, 2013 University of Southern California, Program for Environmental and Regional
Equity Research Grants
2009-2010 University of Southern California Mellon Mentoring Award for mentoring
undergraduate students.
2007-2008 University of Southern California Provost Initiative on Immigration and
Integration Grant
2006-2007 University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate Research Grant
2004-2005 Haynes Foundation Research Grant
2000-2001 The University of California Institute forMexico and the United States Grant
1999-2000 UCSD Civic Collaborative Grant
1998-1999 Mott Foundation Grant through LeadershipEducation for Asian Pacifics
1995-1996 UCLA Institute of American Cultures Interethnic Postdoctoral Fellowship
1994 California Policy Seminar Grant
1991 Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities
1990 UCLA Institute of American Cultures Fellowship
1989-92 American Sociological Association MinorityFellowship
1987UCLA University Fellowship
PRESENTATIONS(since 1995)
2017 “Urban Development and the Politics of Race and Space in Southern California.”
Invited speaker, University of California, Los Angeles, Sociology Department
Race & Ethnicity Working Group.
2014 “From Whiteness to Colorblind Public Polices: Racial Formation and Urban
Development.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological
Association.
2013 “The Roots of Multiracial Political Alliances in the San Gabriel Valley, California.”
Invited speaker, Los Angeles Chinatown Museum.
2013 “Unions, Community Organizations, and Community Benefits Agreements:
Comparing Los Angeles and New York City.” Paper presentedat the annual
meeting of the American Sociological Association.
2012 Invited Discussant, The Politics of Race and Place Workshop, University of
California, San Diego. Sponsored by the Center for Comparative Immigration
Studies and the Department of Political Science.
2012 “Race-Neutral Public Policies: Why the Policies Failed in San Diego and New York
City and Succeeded in Los Angeles.” Invited speaker, University of California,
Irvine, Sociology Department.
2011 “Race-Neutral Public Policies and Racial Formation in the United States.” Invited
speaker, Second Generation & Racial Boundaries Workshop, Cornell University.
2010“Development, Politics, and a Community Benefits Agreement in Los Angeles.”
Paperpresented at the Critical Ethnic Studies Conference, University of California,
Riverside.
2009 “Redistricting and Citizen Commissions.” Invited speaker, Redistricting California
Conference. Sponsored by (partial list): Asian Pacific American Legal Center,
California Common Cause, California NAACP, League of Women Voters of
California, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
2009Invited Panelist, Author-meets-critics panel. Min Zhou. 2009. Contemporary ChineseAmerica: Immigration, Ethnicity, and Community Transformation. UCLA Sociology
Department Immigration Group, East Asian Library, and the Asian American Studies
Department.
2009“Asian Americans and Redistricting: Lessons from Los Angeles, San Diego, and
New York City.” Invited speaker, Advancing Justice Conference. Organized by the
Asian American Institute (Chicago), Asian American Justice Center
(Washington, D.C.), Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), and Asian Pacific American
Legal Center (Los Angeles).
2009“Latin American Immigrants and Political Activism in Los Angeles.” Paper presented
at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
2009 “Rise of Political Power Among Immigrants, Racial Minorities, and Unions
In Los Angeles.” Paper presented at the Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium Conference, University of California, Riverside.
2007 “Economic Redevelopment and the Community Benefits Program in Los Angeles: A
Case Study of Political Mobilization among Immigrants and Labor Organizations.”
Paper presented at theannual meeting of the AmericanSociologicalAssociation.
2006 “Immigrants and Race in the City Center: Claims for Community and Space in
San Diego and Los Angeles.” Invited speaker, conference on “Ethno-Spatial
Diffusion and Local Governance in the United States.” Committee for the Study
of Ethnicity, Race and Immigration in the United States, Cornell University.
2005. “Politics of Historic Preservation.” Invited speaker, conference on Strategies for the
Preservation of Little Tokyo as an Historic Heritage Community.” Los Angeles.
2005 “Asian Immigrants, Asian Americans, and the ‘American Dilemma’ of the
Twenty-First Century.” Invited speaker, conference on Immigrant Political
Incorporation. Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
2004Attorney General of California, Bill Lockyer, “Project California.”
Invited speaker, panel with Ken Starr, Luis Valdez, and D.J. Waldie.
California State University, Los Angeles.
2004 “Contesting History and Economic Development: Chinese Americans, African
Americans, and Whites in San Diego.” Invited speaker, colloquium on
Racial and EthnicConflict in American Life. University of California, San Diego.
Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.
2004 “Asian Americans and Racism.” Invited speaker, Social Justice and Social
Science Symposium in Honor of Joe R. Feagin. University of Illinois, Center on
Democracy in a Multiracial Society.
2004 “Asian Americans and Latinos: Conflict and Alliances around Redistricting in
California, 2000-2002.” Invited speaker. Paper presented at the UCLA Asian Pacific
American Law Journal conference, “Securing a Foothold: Citizenship and Alienation
Within the Homeland.
2003 “Electoral Politics, Race, and Democracy.” Invited speaker, Michi Weglyn Lecture.
California Polytechnic University, Pomona.
2003 “Race and Economic Redevelopment in Downtown San Diego: The Case of
Asian Americans and African Americans.”Paper presented at theannual meeting
of the AmericanSociologicalAssociation.
2003 “The Politics of Race and Redistricting in California, 2000-2002.” Invited
speaker, Nation of Immigrants Conference, Institute of Government Studies,
UC Berkeley.
2003 “Redistricting in California: 200-2002: MALDEF versus the Latino State
Legislators.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for
Chicana and Chicano Studies.
2003 “Redistricting in California and New York City.”Paper presented at the UCLA Asian
Pacific American Research Roundtable.
2002 Invited discussant, session on “Intergroup Comparisons and Relations,” Social
Science Research Council Workshop on Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity.
2001“The Sedimentation of Political Inequality:Charter Reform and Redistricting in New
YorkCity’s Chinatown.” Paper presented at theannual meeting of the American
SociologicalAssociation.
2000 "Asian Americans and Multiracial Coalitions:'White' or 'Brown' in New York City's
Chinatown. Paper presented at the annualmeeting of the Association for Asian
AmericanStudies.
2000 "Asian Americans and Multiracial Coalitions." Invited speaker. Paper presented at
Oberlin College.
1999"Race, Economic Development, and Politics inMonterey Park, California." Invited
speaker. Paperpresented atPomona College.
1999 "Contesting Urban Space, Housing, and Politics:Asian Americans in New York's
Chinatown and theLower East Side." Paper presented at theannual meeting of the
Association for AsianAmerican Studies.
1999“Monterey Park and Asian American Politics.” Invited speaker,
“America’s ‘Chinatowns’ Approaching the 21st Century: Constructing Political
and Ethnic Identities. Museum of Chinese in the Americas, New York City.
1998 "Constructing Race and Politics in aMultiracial Community." Paper presented at the
University of Wisconsin Asian American Studiessymposium.
1998 "Electoral Politics and Citizenship: Local and National Narratives of Exclusion in
New YorkCity Chinatown and the Lower East Side." Paperpresented at the annual
meeting of the AmericanSociological Association.
1997"Contemporary Race Relations in a MultiracialCommunity." Invited speaker. Paper
presented at the CaliforniaState University, Los Angeles Edmund G. BrownInstitute
of Public Affairs Conference:"Communities in Transition."
1997 "The Politics of Representation and Race:Crafting City Council Districts in New
York'sChinatown and Lower East Side, 1990-1991."Paper presented at the annual
meeting of theAmerican Sociological Association.
1997 "Negotiating Race, Representation, and Geography: New York City Council Districts,
1990-1991." Paper presented at the annualmeeting of the Association for Asian
AmericanStudies.
1997 “Boyle Heights: Latinos and Asian Americans.” Invited speaker. Paper presented at
the Getty ResearchInstitute Community Forum, “Mapping Boyle Heights.”
1996 "Race and Politics: A Synthesis of PanethnicityTheory and Research Mobilization
Theory." Paperpresented at the annual meeting of the AmericanSociological
Association.
1996 "Towards a Theory of Constructed Ethnic Identities and Political Coalitions." Paper
presented at the annual meeting of theNational Association of Chicano Studies.
1996 "Constructing Racial Identities and PoliticalAlliances: Latinos and Asian Americans
in LosAngeles County." Invited speaker. Paper presented at theUniversity of
Arizona, MexicanAmerican Studiesand Research Center, "Renato Rosaldo Lecture
Series."
1995 "Public Discourse and Racial Privilege:Whiteness in Monterey Park, California."
Invited speaker. Paperpresented in the University of SouthernCalifornia Sociology
Department'sColloquiaSeries, "Sociological Research in SouthernCalifornia."
1995 "Politics in a New Demographic Order: Latinosin Multiracial Communities." Paper
presented atthe "Latinos in California" conferencesponsored by the University of
CaliforniaInstitute for Mexico and the United States.
1995 "Reasserting Whiteness: Whites as a Minorityin an Asian American and Latino
Community inLos Angeles County." Presented at the annualmeeting of the
AmericanSociologicalAssociation.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS(past and present)
American Sociological Association
American Studies Association
Association of Asian American Studies
National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE (partial list)
Selection Committee member,The Robert and Helen Lynd Career Lifetime
Achievement Awardfrom the American Sociological Association Section on
Community and Urban Sociology, 2017.
Editorial Board Member, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity Journal, 2013-present.
Advisory Board member, Social Problems, 2014-2016.
Council member, Section on Asia and Asian America, American Sociological
Association, 2010-2013.
Selection Committee member, Outstanding Book Award from the American
Sociological Association Section on Asia and Asian America, 2013.
Selection Committee member, Distinguished Contribution to Research Article Award
from the American Sociological Association Latina/o Sociology Section, 2012.
Selection Committee member, Graduate Student Paper Award from the American
Sociological Association Latina/o Sociology Section, 2012.
Selection Committee member, Outstanding Teaching Award from the American
Sociological Association Section on Asia and Asian America, 2012.
Session organizer. “Space, Place, Identity and its Impact on the Asian Diaspora.”
American Sociological Association Annual Conference, 2011.
Selection Committee member,Oliver Cromwell Cox Book Award from the American
Sociological Association Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities, 2011.
Selection Committee member,Graduate Student Paper Award from the American
Sociological Association Section on Asia and Asian America, 2011.
Session organizer. “Ethnic Conflict.” American Sociological
Association Annual Conference, 2010.
Thematic Session organizer. “Racial Formation: Conflict and Coalition Building in
Asian, Latino and African American Communities.” American Sociological
Association Annual Conference, 2009.
Selection Committee member, Social Science Book Award, Asian American
Studies Association, 2009.
Editorial Board Member. Urban Affairs Review. 2009 – 2011.
Member, Institutional Review Board. Economic Roundtable of Los Angeles.