Loretta Lees
Director of The Initiative On Cities, Professor of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences
Loretta Lees is an urban geographer and urbanist who is internationally known for her research on gentrification, urban regeneration, global urbanism, urban policy, urban public space, architecture, and urban social theory. She has been awarded MAE and FAcSS status. She is currently the Director of the Initiative on Cities at Boston University and a tenured Professor in Sociology. She was previously Director of Research at the University of Leicester, UK and Chair of the Cities Group King’s College London, UK. Loretta continues to co-organize The Urban Salon: A London forum for architecture, cities and international urbanism. She was Chair of the London Housing Panel 2020-22. A committed scholar-activist she was awarded the 2022 Urban Affairs Association Marilyn J. Gittell Scholar Activist Award.