A visual sociologist is turning housing campaign materials—posters, banners, protest signs—into formal research data to expose the emotional toll of gentrification-induced displacement. This matters because standard housing studies rarely capture the lived, psychological experience of being pushed out of a neighbourhood. Campaign materials, the researcher argues, contain raw evidence of trauma and resistance that conventional interviews and surveys miss. The work also challenges the trend toward depoliticised participatory arts, calling for research methods that directly support housing activism rather than merely documenting it. If successful, the project could reshape how urban researchers, policymakers, and housing campaigners understand displacement—shifting the focus from economic metrics alone to the psychosocial costs of losing one’s home and community. The five planned journal articles aim to establish a new methodological framework that treats activist-produced visuals as legitimate, rigorous data. A future funding proposal would extend this approach to place attachment in Snowdonia, using participatory methods to counter tourist narratives with stories of belonging. The work is primarily conceptual and methodological, not immediately applied, but could influence how housing policy is evaluated and how community resistance is recognised.
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With this post-doctoral fellowship (PDF), I seek to expand the academic impact of my research and establish myself as a visual scholar bridging academia, arts and activism. The main aim of this PDF is to publish in peer-reviewed academic journals and make a significant contribution to literature on gentrification, displacement and housing activism as well as visual research methods. My objectives are: Objective I: Produce publications to help establish track record The main output of this fellowship is a series of academic journal articles rewritten from thesis chapters. My first visual essay was published in Visual Studies (2024), with visual scholars citing my novel methodology as a good example of participatory arts and research practice. I would like to increase impact on visual research practices and housing policy with the following: · An article for Qualitative Research. ‘Repoliticising participatory arts to work towards social justice on the ground’ advocates a return of participation to its oppositional origins, redressing depoliticised participatory art and research practices. · A visual essay for Visual Communication. ‘Campaign material as empirical data’ introduces campaign material from housing campaigns as valuable data on the psychosocial effects of gentrification-induced displacement, emphasising the insights visual data can offer about the lived experience. · An article for Visual Studies. ‘Towards Radical Visual Studies: supporting housing activism through gentrification and displacement research’ argues for more activist-oriented visual research methods and for research to get directly involved in political struggles. · An article for Housing Studies. ‘Visibilising the emotional trauma of gentrification-induced displacement’ demonstrates how a politically and socially engaged research methodology reveals deeper insight into lived experience. · An article for Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. ‘Conflictual Place Attachment: moving beyond traditional understandings of place attachment’ introduces political struggle as a way of developing place attachment. Objective II: Training to enhance writing (and publishing) skills To enhance my skills in writing academic articles, thus helping me achieve Objective I, I will: · Work with a professional academic writing consultant through one-to-one tutorials to obtain feedback on drafts · Attend 2 academic writing retreats which include one-to-one feedback on drafts · Attend free training sessions on writing and publishing at Goldsmiths Objective III: Engage with a range of different audiences and build networks to develop impact opportunities and further development · Attend networking opportunities with housing campaigners, residents, artists and academics to sustain existing and build new networks (e.g. Public Interest Law Centre, LSE Cities, UCL Urban Lab) · Attend and present at 1 high-profile conference (IVSA or RGS-IBG) to communicate my research findings, get feedback, network and identify potential opportunities for further impact or development and/or potential collaborations Objective IV: Developing a funding proposal Develop a funding application to work on an independent research project after this fellowship. ‘A Welsh Sense of Place’ would explore place attachment in Eryri (Snowdonia), particularly people’s emotional connections to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). It utilises participatory and visual research methods to counter dominant tourist narratives with stories of home and belonging. As the British Academy supports early-career researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences and welcomes creative practices and research methodologies, the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship is the most appropriate funding opportunity. Alternatively, I would consider the Wellcome Early-Career Award, the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship or the Arts Council Developing Your Creative Practice Grant.
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