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Heather Rollwagen

Dr. Heather Rollwagen

Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director, PhD Policy Studies
EducationBA (Queen’s University), MA (University of Waterloo), PhD (University of Calgary)
OfficeJOR-329
Phone416-979-5000 x554197

Housing tenure—whether a home is owned or rented by its occupant—is as much a social experience as a financial one.

Heather Rollwagen

Areas of Expertise:

housing; fear of crime; quantitative methods; mixed methods research

Research:

Dr. Rollwagen’s research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to study issues related to housing, perceptions of crime, and neighbourhood livability in urban areas. She has examined the association between the built form of housing and fear of crime, and the way ideologies of housing tenure relate to the construction of crime risk. She is currently conducting a qualitative study of housing aspirations among young adults living in Toronto. She also maintains a research interest in perceptions of crime and criminal justice, as well as police decision-making. In addition to this research program, Dr. Rollwagen is a member of the Canadian Worlds of Journalism research team - an interdisciplinary research group collaborating with scholars from 63 countries to understand the professional roles and values of journalists, as well as the changing conditions under which journalists work.

Courses:

  • SOC 105: Introduction to Sociology
  • SOC 402: The City and Social Problems
  • SOC 483: Advanced Statistical Modeling
  • PD 9004: Foundations of Quantitative Research

Graduate Program Membership:

Recent Publications:

Rollwagen, H. and B. Mayhew. 2023. Feeling lucky: Young adults, housing struggles, and the neoliberal politics of entitlement (external link, opens in new window) . Housing Studies. Advance online publication.

Rollwagen, H., I. Shapiro, I., G. Bonin-Labelle, L. Fitzgerald, and L. Tremblay, L. 2019. Just who do Canadian journalists think they are? Political role conceptions in global and historical perspective. (external link, opens in new window)  Canadian Journal of Political Science 52(3): 461-477. 

Rollwagen, H., and J.C. Jacob. 2018. The Victim–Offender relationship and police charging decisions for juvenile delinquents: How does social distance moderate the impact of legal and extralegal factors? (external link, opens in new window)  Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(4): 378-394.

Bonin, G., F. Dingerkus, A. Dubied, S. Mertens, H. Rollwagen, V. Sacco, I. Shapiro,  O. Standaert, and V. Wyss. 2017. Quelle difference? Language, culture and nationality as influences on francophone journalists’ identity. (external link, opens in new window)  Journalism Studies 18(5): 536-554.

Oriola, T., H. Rollwagen, N. Neverson and C.T. Adeyanju. 2016. Public support for conducted energy weapons: Evidence from the 2014 Alberta Survey. (external link, opens in new window)  Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice 58(4): 530-564.

Rollwagen, H. 2016. The relationship between dwelling type and fear of crime. (external link, opens in new window)  Environment and Behavior 48(2): 365-387.

Rollwagen, H. 2015. Constructing renters as a threat to neighbourhood safety. (external link, opens in new window)  Housing Studies 30(1): 1-21.