Urban Geographer & Globally Recognized Expert on Gentrification and Urban Policy; Director of the Initiative on Cities and Professor of Sociology at Boston University

Boston, MA, USA
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Loretta Lees Biography

Professor Loretta Lees is the Director of the Initiative on Cities and a Professor of Sociology at Boston University. An urban geographer committed to justice, Professor Lees is internationally known for her research on gentrification and urban regeneration, global urbanism, urban policy, urban public space, architecture, and urban social theory. The author of multiple books, in 2017, she was recognized as the 17th most referenced author in urban geography worldwide and the only woman in the top 20. Her most recent book, "Defensible Space on the Move," examines the policy mobility of urban housing redesign that purports to inhibit criminal behavior from the U.S. to the UK. Professor Lees has an impressive record of securing UK and EU research grants. She is also known for her policy impact and deep community engagement. She recently completed her tenure as Chair of the London Housing Panel, convened by the Mayor of London and Trust for London as a structured way for voluntary and community organizations to advise on housing policy and practice.

Before coming to Boston University in 2022, Professor Lees was a Professor of Human Geography at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, where she worked for nine years as director of research. Before that, she was at King’s College London for 16 years and was director of the Cities Research Group. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, the Royal Society of the Arts, and the Higher Education Academy. She also serves on many editorial boards, including Dialogues in Urban Research and the Journal of Urban Affairs, and previously served on the editorial boards of Urban Geography, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Environment and Planning A, City and Society, Urban Planning, Dialogues in Human Geography, The Canadian Geographer, ACME, among others. She holds a PhD in urban geography from the University of Edinburgh. Since 2009 she has co-organized The Urban Salon, a London forum for architecture, cities, and international urbanism.

Professor Lees has been an expert witness to the demolition of the largest public housing project in Europe, leading to a precedent-setting decision based on her research showing the impacts of displacement on a longstanding, low-income, Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) community. She has also had a significant impact through her co-production of anti-gentrification toolkits for council estates in London and four southern European cities. The Urban Affairs Association awarded her the 2022 Marilyn J. Gittell Activist Scholar Award in recognition of this work. In 2022, she was honored with a membership in the invitation-only Academia Europaea.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 09/05/2025.

Loretta Lees Videos

Loretta Lees - American University School of Public Affairs

Loretta Lees - American University School of Public Affairs

Planetary Gentrification: Its Impacts and Futures in a Post-Pandemic World

Loretta Lees - Boston University Office of Research

Loretta Lees - Boston University Office of Research

The Global Housing Crisis and Planetary Gentrification

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  • What topics does Loretta Lees speak about?

    Loretta Lees is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Art & Design, Culture, Overcoming Adversity, Professors, Real Estate, Social Activism, Social Sciences
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Loretta Lees is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. The estimated speaking fee range to book Loretta Lees for your event is available upon request. Loretta Lees generally travels from Boston, MA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Lance Freeman, Kate Orff, Kathryn Edin, Jacqueline Sanderlin and Sonalee Rashatwar. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Loretta Lees for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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