Bio

Yaidi Cancel Martinez is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Planning. Yaidi has extensive work and research experience on social and health inequities related to housing quality, instability and discrimination in Wisconsin. She also contributes to local research on housing affordability, income inequality and access to employment. She is interested in expanding research at the intersection of urban planning, housing policy and public health.

Before her current position, Yaidi worked as an Adjunct Faculty at SARUP and as an Associate Scientist at UWM’s Center of Economic Development where she lead the research on the state of economic well-being and health of Wisconsin veterans and contributed to other projects examining inequities in the Milwaukee metro area. Yaidi has also contributed to housing policy research as a Fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Forum and Community Advocates’ Public Policy Institute. She also worked on national environmental policy on motor vehicles at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC, before pursuing her doctorate in urban planning.

Yaidi was born and raised in Puerto Rico and has called Milwaukee home since 2015. She lives with her family of four in the city where she enjoys serving and connecting in the community.

Education

Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning - University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2019
M.S. in Environmental Planning and Management - Johns Hopkins University, 2011
B.S. in Environmental Engineering – Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, 2009

Research Focus

Social Inequities in Urban Planning
Community Economic Development
Urban Planning and Public Health
Housing Markets and Policy

Courses

URBPLAN 316: Planning for the Great Cities of America
URBPLAN 762: Housing Markets and Public Policy
URBPLAN 721: Applied Planning Methods