PhD positions
The three PhD students will conduct in-depth research in one of the case study cities (Amsterdam, Barcelona, or Thessaloniki). The research will include:
- Studying urban expulsion regimes "from above": Analysing state policies, legal frameworks, housing regulations, and public discourses shaping eviction governance
- Studying urban expulsion regimes “from below”: Examining how eviction governance is enacted in everyday practices by street-level bureaucrats and private actors (e.g. landlords, welfare offices, judicial courts, police, and bailiffs)
- Exploring lived experiences of housing insecurity: Investigating housing trajectories, notions of home, coping strategies, and access to urban citizenship among residents at risk of eviction.
The ideal candidates hold a Master's degree in sociology, urban studies, geography, anthropology or a related field, have experience with qualitative research methods, and are proficient in the language of the city under study. The selected candidates will conduct independent doctoral research leading to a PhD dissertation, publish in peer-reviewed academic journals, present research at conferences, and contribute to the organization of academic events and societal dissemination of research findings.
Postdoctoral position
The postdoctoral research will play a central role in combining the quantitative analysis of eviction court data with qualitative interviews and ethnographic fieldwork with institutional actors and residents at risk of eviction. The reseracher will focus on three main tasks:
- Lead the quantitative analysis of urban expulsion regimes: Compile, clean, harmonise and analyse eviction court datasets across the cities under study
- Conduct cross-city comparative research: Map and analyse the geographical distribution of eviction patterns within and across cities and examine similarities and differences in urban eviction regimes and their socio-spatial impacts.
- Integrate quantitative and qualitative findings into broader comparative and mixed-methods framework: Integrate quantitative and qualitative findings and contribute to the theoretical development of the concept of urban expulsion regimes.
The ideal candidate holds a PhD in sociology, urban studies, geography, anthropology, or a related field. The candidate has strong quantitative research skills with statistical software (e.g. R, Stata, SPSS, or Python) and geospatial analysis (e.g. ArcGIS).
More information
Hereby, you can find the full position description for each position:
- PhD - case study Barcelona
- PhD - case study Amsterdam
- PhD - case study Thessaloniki
- Postdoctoral Researcher
For any questions about the job content, please contact Prof. Eva Swyngedouw at eva.swyngedouw@vub.be or on 0498/14879