Stuart Hodkinson is an academic and campaigner focusing on different dimensions of the housing crisis. He has been based at the University of Leeds since 2005 where he is Associate Professor in Critical Urban Geography.

 

Stuart’s research covers the politics, policies and lived experiences of housing privatisation and regeneration, and has been funded by the British Academy, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the European Union.

 

Stuart first became involved in housing activism in 2006 in Leeds when he supported a local residents’ association’s struggle against a housing PFI scheme that threatened their homes. As a committed action researcher, he has been supporting residents’ groups and housing campaigns across the UK ever since.

 

In particular, since 2011 he has been researching residents’ experiences of unsafe council housing regeneration and refurbishment schemes under PFI, which form the basis of the Safe as Houses book. Stuart has also published a number of academic articles, book chapters and journalistic pieces, which can be accessed here. He is a founding member of the campaign group, The People vs PFI and a contributor to the Real Voices housing networking platform for residents and campaigners.

 

Stuart is currently working with others on developing an online housing safety education and reporting tool for residents, also called Safe as Houses.