Dr. Marta Marika Urbanik

Biography

Marta-Marika Urbanik is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta, specializing in criminology. Her research focuses on homelessness, gangs, drug-related crime, and urban violence, utilizing ethnographic methods to examine the interplay between neighborhood redevelopment and policing in Canada's inner cities. Urbanik's doctoral research, which revolved around the impact of neighborhood revitalization on gang dynamics and criminal structures, garnered multiple awards, including the Social Science and Humanities Research Council's Joseph-Armand Bombardier award and the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship. She is also the Acting Director of the BA Criminology Program and serves as Book Review Editor for the Canadian Journal of Sociology. Urbanik actively presents her findings at national and international conferences and has been invited as a speaker at several universities. Her academic contributions have been published in notable journals such as the British Journal of Criminology and the International Journal of Drug Policy. She teaches courses on criminology, sociological deviance, and the dynamics of gangs and violence, while also mentoring undergraduate and graduate research assistants.

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