Profile

Professor Herbert received her B.S. in Sociology and Political Science from University of Oregon in 2006, and her Ph.D in Sociology from University of Michigan in 2016. She was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Drexel University for three years before joining the Sociology Department at University of Oregon. Her research focuses on law, housing, property, and urban sociology. Her book, A Detroit Story: Urban Decline and the Rise of Property Informality was published with University of California Press in 2021. In this book, she examines the way that de jure illegal uses of property - like squatting, scrapping, and gardening - shape the form of the city, neighborhood conditions, and residents’ well being. Claire is currently conducting research for a project called When Home is Illegal: How Law and Governance Shape Informal Housing in Lane County, examining the interaction between local regulations, enforcement, and the well-being of residents experiencing unsheltered homelessness.