Ignacio Aravena joined the department in 2020. His research focuses on how housing policies impact on cities and neighbourhood dynamics. He is especially interested in the interrelation of policy and real estate and in socio-spatial phenomena such as segregation and affordable housing location policies.

Before joining LSE, Ignacio worked in real estate consultancy and teaching in Chilean universities. After his experience as a practitioner, he embarked on a master’s degree in Urban Planning at NYU, focusing on how housing policy and real estate can be a tool to enhance thriving and more equitable cities. During his stint at NYU, he practiced as an independent consultant and participated in applied research, teaching assistantship, and worked for the New York City Housing Preservation and Development department as a graduate intern.

Ignacio’s research interest lies in the intersection of public policy, real estate, and economics to bolster impactful social policies in the built environments, with a strong focus on social integration and urban poverty. This includes knowledge areas such as affordable housing policies, segregation and poverty, land use regulation, demographic dynamics, and program evaluation.

Ignacio is currently researching the impact of affordable housing policies on residential segregation in metropolitan areas, especially in developing countries and South America. Primarily focused on using quantitative methods to estimate how urban policy impacts in cities’ socio-economic dynamics under the lens of the geography of integration and opportunities.

Research interests

• Housing
• Land use regulation
• Program evaluation
• Real Estate and urban economics
• Economic development

Skills: R Studio, Python, Stata, ArcGis, QGis

Publications and Opinion Columns

• Opinion Columnist at La Tecera 
  • ‘Vivienda y Constitución: ¿forma o fondo?’, (‘Constitution and housing rights: form or substance?’), La Tercera,22 October 2020
  • ‘Banco de suelos: desafíos y riesgos’, (‘Soil Bank: challenges and risks’), La Tercera,1 September 2020
• Opinion Columnist in Chilean newspapers and radio via Fundacion Piensa
• 'Aravena y división de Chile en siete macrozonas: "Es estructurar territorio de manera más ordenada", EMOL TV, 25 May 2021 (Video Interview)

Scholarships and awards

• NYU Wagner - Robert Berne Award for Leadership – 2020
• NYU Stern School of Business – 2019 Opportunity Zone Challenge: Second Place.
• FONDECYT Iniciacion 11110365 – Bachelor’s Degree thesis scholarship.
• CONICYT – Master’s Degree scholarship 2018. Full tuition and personal stipend.
• ANID – Doctoral Degree scholarship 2020. Full tuition and personal stipend.

Affiliations

• Associate researcher at P!ensa Valparaíso.
• Board member of the Chilean Urbanists Network 2021 (PLANRED)

Positions held

• New York University. Graduate teaching assistant. Quantitative methods for public policy and Urban Planning Methods and Practice. 2019-2020.
• NYU Urban Planning Student Association, Chair. 2019-2020
• Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Lecturer in the Postgraduate diplomas in Real Estate Appraisal and Real Estate Development. 2017-2020
• Universidad San Sebastián, Chile. Lecturer in the School of Civil Engineering. Lecturer in Construction management and Methods; and dissertation advisor in topics related to real estate and city planning. 2017-2018

Supervisors

Prof Christian Hilber
Dr Nancy Holman 

View Ignacio's CV.