Loretta Lees awarded Royal Medal from the Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society announced today that Professor Loretta Lees has been awarded the Society’s prestigious Royal Medal. The award is given in recognition of extraordinary achievement in geographical research, fieldwork and expeditions, teaching, policy, professional practice and public engagement. The Royal Medals have been presented since the 1830s. Past recipients include Sir David Attenborough, […]
BU Sociology students and faculty present at 2025 Eastern Sociological Society conference
Last week a number of our students and faculty presented at the 2025 ESS conference in Boston. Here are some highlights:
Loretta Lees and Initiative on Cities featured in The Brink
Sociology professor Loretta Lees was just featured in The Brink’s latest article, “BU’s Initiative on Cities Builds a Tool for Fighting Displacement.” It reports on the IOC’s partnership with the city of Louisville, Kentucky to help implement an anti-displacement ordinance preventing development projects that would push neighborhood residents out of their homes. This was done […]
Loretta Lees helps develop new tool to fight gentrification in Louisville, Kentucky
On November 21st, a new tool aimed at preventing public dollars from funding developments that could displace residents passed with unanimous support from the Louisville, Kentucky Metro Council. The first of its kind in the United States, the tool was developed with the help of Loretta Lees, Sociology professor and director of the Initiative on […]
PhD student Andrew Ward publishes gentrification op-ed in Cambridge Day
In a new Cambridge Day op-ed, PhD student Andrew Ward utilizes his research from Professor Loretta Lees’ Gentrification Studies class last semester. In the article “Gentrification study of Central Square finds independent spirit that’s being sorely tested,” Ward presents findings from Cambridge Local First’s inaugural State of Small Business report to demonstrate the rapid pace […]
Loretta Lees’ Gentrification Studies seminar featured in BU Today
“Housing and businesses are correlated…the hyper-gentrification that Boston has been experiencing overall, plus the housing crisis off the back of it—that has an impact on small businesses, too and both have to be seen as part of the pressures of a big city.” -Loretta Lees A new seminar on the topic of gentrification taught by […]