Biography

Benjamin Preis is a fourth year PhD Candidate in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. His dissertation research focuses on the relationship between the rental housing market and inequality in US cities. He is particularly concerned with how a changing rental market produces inequality and opportunities for extraction and exploitation. His other work has focused on gentrification, local government policy, and cybersecurity.

Ben received his Master in City Planning from MIT in 2019. His master’s thesis focused on the relationship between cities and universities in the deployment of “smart city” technology. He has previously worked with the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, the Cambridge Housing Authority, and the Center for Public Studies in Santiago, Chile. Prior to his time at MIT, he worked on science and higher education policy at Lewis-Burke Associates in Washington, DC. Ben received his BS in Physics and Peace and Justice Studies from Tufts University.