Lydia Wileden
Institute & Division of Social Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow
Lydia Wileden joined the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation and Division of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, working with adviser Emily Talen, after completing her PhD in Public Policy and Sociology at the University of Michigan. As a quantitative urban scholar, her work focuses on collecting and utilizing unique survey data to understand and model how people make sense of and make decisions about their local environments. Lydia’s research agenda examines the ways neighborhood knowledge, imperfect information, perceptions, place reputations, demographic change, and public policy combine to shape where and how we live. Additionally, Lydia works on the core research team developing, fielding, and analyzing the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study. Prior to graduate school, Lydia worked for Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and for NeighborWorks America and received her BA in Urban Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University.