Loren Peabody

I am an urban sociologist working at the field’s intersections with political, economic and environmental sociology. I will be completing my Ph.D. in sociology in the spring of 2026 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As an urban sociologist, I study how residents of cities respond to rising costs of living, deepening spatial inequalities and the need to shift to more sustainable patterns of urban development. For instance, why do residents sometimes support dense and affordable housing construction in their neighborhoods and sometimes oppose it? As a political sociologist, my current research examines how participatory democratic institutions at the local level affect governance outcomes. The goal of both strands of my work is to contribute to a public sociology that produces insights about strategies for expanding the equity and livability of our cities.

As an educator, I teach a range of sociological courses in which students grapple with issues surrounding social inequalities and environmental degradation while building critical skills in the process. I have developed and taught courses on poverty and spatial inequality in the United States, environmental sociology, the sociology of international development and sustainability, urban sociology, and introductory sociology.