Miguel A. Martínez

My research mostly focuses on the analysis of urban movements and activism. In addition, I am interested in participatory processes about urban planning. Other topics under the umbrella of urban sociology and urban politics, such as housing policies, socio-spatial segregation, use of public spaces, sustainable mobility, local governance and gentrification, are part of my research work as well. More broadly: social movements, political sociology and qualitative methods.

My first interests focused on Participatory-Action-Research methods and processes. These were applied to the study of citizen participation in urban planning and urban movements, which nurtured my PhD dissertation in 2000. Afterwards, I held teaching positions in different universities of Spain, Portugal and Hong Kong. In parallel to my academic career I also worked professionally at the Municipal Housing Department in Vigo (2000-2002) and occasionally as a consultant in several urban plans across Spain. I mainly study social movements and urban phenomena from a sociological perspective. Some of the topics I have covered in my research are urban segregation, housing, migration, density, globalisation, urban mobility, urban politics, governance, sustainability, labour, and social structures. These concerns were developed in different cities (mainly Porto, Vigo, Madrid and Hong Kong, but also during short stays in Medellin, Chicago, Beijing, Berlin, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Belo Horizonte, Sofia, etc.). In addition, I have often participated in various social movements which, in turn, became one of my main research subjects.

Current projects:

2020-23, Principal Investigator, ‘The intersectional and sustainable impacts of housing movements: the Spanish case’, FORMAS (Swedish Program for Sustainable Spatial Planning).

2019-24 Urban Struggles for the Right to the City and Urban Commons in Brazil and Europe. Funded by: STINT-CAPES. PI: Miguel A. Martínez and Dominika V. Polanska.