Bio

Mare Liam Ralph, AICP, is an urban planner, writer, and researcher. Ralph is a project coordinator for the Accessible Cities 4 All project at the Community Health and Disability Inclusion Research and Training Center in the Department of Disability and Human Development at University of Illinois Chicago. Their research interests include gender-inclusive planning, public and social housing, accessibility and mobility, design justice, and identity in design and the built environment.

Ralph was recognized as an emerging leader as a 2026 Disability Lead Institute Fellow. They were a Civic Reporting Fellow at City Bureau, a non-profit journalism lab, and worked in policy advocacy at Housing Action Illinois. Ralph co-authored a report by Housing Action Illinois and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Code Enforcement as a Tool for Safe, Equitable & Affordable Housing, culminating three years of research on the impact of local housing code enforcement on health, safety, and stability. Ralph was also a member of the Housing and Neighborhoods Research Team for We Will Chicago, the first citywide framework plan since 1966.

Ralph has organized space for queer and transgender youth as a co-founder of Out Loud Louisville and sits on the board of We Rock! Chicago. They coordinate mutual aid distributing fresh food to South Side neighbors with Market Box and live in the South Shore neighborhood with their partner, dog, and cats.