I am a Professor in Social Work at the School of Social Sciences at Södertörn University.
I examined gated communtities and their growing popularity in Poland in my dissertation (in Sociology, 2011). In my research I have focused on social movements working with housing related issues in Central and Eastern Europe (mainly Poland), but also in Sweden. My research interests encompass: urban social movements, extra-parliamentary activism, squatting, tenants’ mobilizations, informal organization, and non-traditional forms of civic engagement.
My research has revolved around how renoviction (a form of gentrification) affects residents in Sweden and I have been especially interested in different forms of resistance among tenants. Between 2018- 2023 I led a project on socially sustainable housing policy where I together with colleagues at Uppsala and Stockholm University was analyzing Swedish housing policy and alternatives for a more socially sustainable housing system. I have also been involved in two other research projects (2018-2022) on extensive housing renewal in several Swedish cities.
Between 2023-2028, I am leading an international research project that studies how people act collectively in times of crisis, involving Sweden, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia. The project studies what sustains collective action and what role crises play. You can read more about the project at: www.sustainaction.org.