I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, where I received my PhD in City and Regional Planning in August 2023.

I draw on the disciplines of planning, geography, urban sociology, and urban economics to study how the interrelated factors of residential mobility, neighborhood change, and housing policy shape socio-spatial landscapes with material consequences to the life chances and wellbeing of individuals and communities. I focus on how these processes and outcomes vary by race and class and how they exacerbate or alleviate urban inequality, particularly regarding access to well-resourced, high-opportunity neighborhoods. I primarily leverage quantitative and spatial methods using a wide variety of data sources (e.g., survey data, census data, administrative data, and consumer reference data) and conduct studies that are locally grounded as well as national in scope.

Peer-reviewed articles:

  • [Under review] Lee, Yeonhwa. Neighborhood change trajectories toward greater income diversity: A study of the 100 largest U.S. cities, 1990-2019.

  • [Revise & resubmit] Freeman, L., Lee, Y., Lei, Y., Xu, W. (Equal contribution). Measuring residential mobility: A historical overview of novel data and methodological approaches.

  • Lee, Yeonhwa & Reina, Vincent. (2024). Neighborhood satisfaction and gentrification: A study of Philadelphia. Urban Studies. [Link to article]

  • Reina, Vincent & Lee, Yeonhwa. (2023). COVID-19 and emergency rental assistance: Impact on rent arrears, debt, and the wellbeing of renters in Philadelphia. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Special Issue: The Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19. [Link to article]

  • Lee, Y., Kemp, P., Reina, V. (2022). Drivers of housing (un)affordability in the advanced economies: A review and new evidence. Housing Studies, 37(10), 1739-1752. [Link to article]

Research reports:

You can reach me at yeonhwa [at] upenn [dot] edu.

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