Miguel A. Martínez
Affiliated Professor at Department of Sociology; Faculty
- E-mail:
- miguel.martinez@ibf.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Engelska parken
Thunbergsvägen 3H - Postal address:
- Box 624
751 26 UPPSALA
Download contact information for Miguel A. Martínez at Department of Sociology; Faculty
Professor in Sociology, especially Housing and Urban Sociology at Institute for Housing and Urban Research
- Telephone:
- +46 18 471 65 45
- E-mail:
- miguel.martinez@ibf.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Trädgårdsgatan 18
- Postal address:
- Box 514
751 20 UPPSALA
Download contact information for Miguel A. Martínez at Institute for Housing and Urban Research
- CV:
- Download CV
- ORCID:
- 0000-0001-5511-2390
Short presentation
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.
Keywords
- social movements
- urban studies
- housing
- urban sociology
Biography
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.
Research
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.
Media
Academic webpage
Academic webpage

Publications
Selection of publications
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Part of The Routledge Hispanic Studies Companion to Twentieth-And Twenty-First Century Spain, p. 49-62, Routledge, 2025
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Part of Urban Studies, p. 2060-2079, 2024
- DOI for Accommodating 'generation rent': Unsettling dominant discourses on rental housing reform in Catalonia and Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of Accommodating 'generation rent': Unsettling dominant discourses on rental housing reform in Catalonia and Spain
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Social and critical features of urban sociology
Part of Research Handbook on Urban Sociology, p. 26-49, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024
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Grassroots struggles challenging housing financialization in Spain
Part of Housing Studies, p. 1516-1536, 2024
- DOI for Grassroots struggles challenging housing financialization in Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of Grassroots struggles challenging housing financialization in Spain
-
Part of Housing, Theory and Society, p. 657-677, 2024
- DOI for The Housing Struggle of Working-Class Migrant Women in Spain Through a Double Horizon of Political Temporality
- Download full text (pdf) of The Housing Struggle of Working-Class Migrant Women in Spain Through a Double Horizon of Political Temporality
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Activist Research as a Methodological Toolbox to Advance Public Sociology
Part of Sociology, p. 832-850, 2024
- DOI for Activist Research as a Methodological Toolbox to Advance Public Sociology
- Download full text (pdf) of Activist Research as a Methodological Toolbox to Advance Public Sociology
-
Part of Journal of Urban Affairs, p. 65-83, 2023
- DOI for The outcomes of residential squatting activism in the context of municipalism and capitalism in Madrid and Barcelona (2015–2019)
- Download full text (pdf) of The outcomes of residential squatting activism in the context of municipalism and capitalism in Madrid and Barcelona (2015–2019)
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State-Led Actions Reigniting the Financialization of Housing in Spain
Part of Housing, Theory and Society, p. 1-21, 2023
- DOI for State-Led Actions Reigniting the Financialization of Housing in Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of State-Led Actions Reigniting the Financialization of Housing in Spain
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Urban movements and municipalist governments in Spain: alliances, tensions, and achievements
Part of Social Movement Studies, p. 659-676, 2022
- DOI for Urban movements and municipalist governments in Spain: alliances, tensions, and achievements
- Download full text (pdf) of Urban movements and municipalist governments in Spain: alliances, tensions, and achievements
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Reclaiming space for workers in the 21st century: A literature review on worker centers
2021
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Mutating mobilisations during the pandemic crisis in Spain
Part of Interface, p. 15-21, 2020
- DOI for Mutating mobilisations during the pandemic crisis in Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of Mutating mobilisations during the pandemic crisis in Spain
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Squatters in the Capitalist City: Housing, Justice, and Urban Politics
Routledge, 2020
- DOI for Squatters in the Capitalist City: Housing, Justice, and Urban Politics
- Download full text (pdf) of Squatters in the Capitalist City: Housing, Justice, and Urban Politics
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European squatters' movements and the right to the city
Part of Routledge Handbook of Contemporary European Social Movements, p. 155-167, Routledge, 2020
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Urban Commons from an Anti-Capitalist Approach
Part of PArticipation and COnflict, p. 1390-1410, 2020
- DOI for Urban Commons from an Anti-Capitalist Approach
- Download full text (pdf) of Urban Commons from an Anti-Capitalist Approach
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Framing Urban Movements, Contesting Global Capitalism and Liberal Democracy
Part of Contested Cities and Urban Activism, p. 25-45, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
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Introduction: citizenship as inhabitance? Migrant housing squats versus institutional accommodation
Part of Citizenship Studies, p. 521-539, 2019
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Bitter wins or a long-distance race?: Social and political outcomes of the Spanish housing movement
Part of Housing Studies, p. 1588-1611, 2019
- DOI for Bitter wins or a long-distance race?: Social and political outcomes of the Spanish housing movement
- Download full text (pdf) of Bitter wins or a long-distance race?: Social and political outcomes of the Spanish housing movement
Recent publications
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Epistemic Extractivism in Engaged Urban and Housing Research: Implications And Counter‐Measures
Part of International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2026
- DOI for Epistemic Extractivism in Engaged Urban and Housing Research: Implications And Counter‐Measures
- Download full text (pdf) of Epistemic Extractivism in Engaged Urban and Housing Research: Implications And Counter‐Measures
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Global corporate landlordism and a new cycle of tenant contention
Part of Urban Studies, p. 3113-3128, 2025
- DOI for Global corporate landlordism and a new cycle of tenant contention
- Download full text (pdf) of Global corporate landlordism and a new cycle of tenant contention
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Part of Environment and planning A, p. 757-775, 2025
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Centros sociales autogestionados: Por una reapropiación colectiva de la ciudad
Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2025
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Mouvements sociaux urbains et gouvernments municipalistes: alliances, tensions et réalisations
Part of Villes rebelles, Éditions du Croquant, 2025
All publications
Articles in journal
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Epistemic Extractivism in Engaged Urban and Housing Research: Implications And Counter‐Measures
Part of International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2026
- DOI for Epistemic Extractivism in Engaged Urban and Housing Research: Implications And Counter‐Measures
- Download full text (pdf) of Epistemic Extractivism in Engaged Urban and Housing Research: Implications And Counter‐Measures
-
Global corporate landlordism and a new cycle of tenant contention
Part of Urban Studies, p. 3113-3128, 2025
- DOI for Global corporate landlordism and a new cycle of tenant contention
- Download full text (pdf) of Global corporate landlordism and a new cycle of tenant contention
-
Part of Environment and planning A, p. 757-775, 2025
-
Part of Urban Studies, p. 2060-2079, 2024
- DOI for Accommodating 'generation rent': Unsettling dominant discourses on rental housing reform in Catalonia and Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of Accommodating 'generation rent': Unsettling dominant discourses on rental housing reform in Catalonia and Spain
-
Grassroots struggles challenging housing financialization in Spain
Part of Housing Studies, p. 1516-1536, 2024
- DOI for Grassroots struggles challenging housing financialization in Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of Grassroots struggles challenging housing financialization in Spain
-
Part of Housing, Theory and Society, p. 657-677, 2024
- DOI for The Housing Struggle of Working-Class Migrant Women in Spain Through a Double Horizon of Political Temporality
- Download full text (pdf) of The Housing Struggle of Working-Class Migrant Women in Spain Through a Double Horizon of Political Temporality
-
Activist Research as a Methodological Toolbox to Advance Public Sociology
Part of Sociology, p. 832-850, 2024
- DOI for Activist Research as a Methodological Toolbox to Advance Public Sociology
- Download full text (pdf) of Activist Research as a Methodological Toolbox to Advance Public Sociology
-
Part of Journal of Urban Affairs, p. 65-83, 2023
- DOI for The outcomes of residential squatting activism in the context of municipalism and capitalism in Madrid and Barcelona (2015–2019)
- Download full text (pdf) of The outcomes of residential squatting activism in the context of municipalism and capitalism in Madrid and Barcelona (2015–2019)
-
State-Led Actions Reigniting the Financialization of Housing in Spain
Part of Housing, Theory and Society, p. 1-21, 2023
- DOI for State-Led Actions Reigniting the Financialization of Housing in Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of State-Led Actions Reigniting the Financialization of Housing in Spain
-
The configuration of a multi-pronged housing movement in Barcelona
Part of PArticipation and COnflict, p. 63-86, 2023
- DOI for The configuration of a multi-pronged housing movement in Barcelona
- Download full text (pdf) of The configuration of a multi-pronged housing movement in Barcelona
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The struggle against home evictions in Spain through documentary films
Part of International journal of housing policy, p. 371-394, 2022
- DOI for The struggle against home evictions in Spain through documentary films
- Download full text (pdf) of The struggle against home evictions in Spain through documentary films
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Part of Encrucijadas, 2022
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Urban movements and municipalist governments in Spain: alliances, tensions, and achievements
Part of Social Movement Studies, p. 659-676, 2022
- DOI for Urban movements and municipalist governments in Spain: alliances, tensions, and achievements
- Download full text (pdf) of Urban movements and municipalist governments in Spain: alliances, tensions, and achievements
-
Part of Encrucijadas, 2021
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Mutating mobilisations during the pandemic crisis in Spain
Part of Interface, p. 15-21, 2020
- DOI for Mutating mobilisations during the pandemic crisis in Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of Mutating mobilisations during the pandemic crisis in Spain
-
Part of Journal of Urban Affairs, p. 175-175, 2020
-
Urban Commons from an Anti-Capitalist Approach
Part of PArticipation and COnflict, p. 1390-1410, 2020
- DOI for Urban Commons from an Anti-Capitalist Approach
- Download full text (pdf) of Urban Commons from an Anti-Capitalist Approach
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Part of Journal of Urban Affairs, p. 241-256, 2020
- DOI for Dancing with shackles?: The sociopolitical opportunities, achievements, and dilemmas of cycling activism in Guangzhou, China
- Download full text (pdf) of Dancing with shackles?: The sociopolitical opportunities, achievements, and dilemmas of cycling activism in Guangzhou, China
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Just rekindle hope?: Social and political impacts of the 15M movement in Spain
Part of Estudios de la Paz y el Conflicto, Revista Latinoamericana, p. 13-38, 2020
- DOI for Just rekindle hope?: Social and political impacts of the 15M movement in Spain
- Download full text (pdf) of Just rekindle hope?: Social and political impacts of the 15M movement in Spain
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Squatting and Urban Commons: Creating Alternatives to Neoliberalism
Part of PArticipation and COnflict, p. 1244-1251, 2020
- DOI for Squatting and Urban Commons: Creating Alternatives to Neoliberalism
- Download full text (pdf) of Squatting and Urban Commons: Creating Alternatives to Neoliberalism
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Part of menelique, p. 92-99, 2020
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The autonomy of struggles and the self-management of squats: legacies of intertwined movements
Part of Interface, p. 178-199, 2019
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Part of Culture Unbound, p. 165-189, 2019
- DOI for Good and Bad Squatters?: Challenging Hegemonic Narratives and Advancing Anti-Capitalist Views of Squatting in Western European Cities
- Download full text (pdf) of Good and Bad Squatters?: Challenging Hegemonic Narratives and Advancing Anti-Capitalist Views of Squatting in Western European Cities
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Introduction: citizenship as inhabitance? Migrant housing squats versus institutional accommodation
Part of Citizenship Studies, p. 521-539, 2019
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Street Occupations, Neglected Democracy, and Contested Neoliberalism in Hong Kong
Part of Social Justice, p. 101-124, 2019
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Bitter wins or a long-distance race?: Social and political outcomes of the Spanish housing movement
Part of Housing Studies, p. 1588-1611, 2019
- DOI for Bitter wins or a long-distance race?: Social and political outcomes of the Spanish housing movement
- Download full text (pdf) of Bitter wins or a long-distance race?: Social and political outcomes of the Spanish housing movement
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Squatters and migrants in Madrid: Interactions, contexts and cycles
Part of Urban Studies, p. 2472-2489, 2017
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Mapping the Movement: Producing maps of squatted social centres in Western Europe
Part of Trespass Journal, p. 84-102, 2017
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Occupy the squares, freeing buildings
Part of ACME, p. 157-184, 2015
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How Do Squatters Deal with the State?: Legalization and Anomalous Institutionalization in Madrid
Part of International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, p. 646-674, 2014
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The Squatters' Movement in Europe: A Durable Struggle for Social Autonomy in Urban Politics
Part of Antipode, p. 866-887, 2013
- DOI for The Squatters' Movement in Europe: A Durable Struggle for Social Autonomy in Urban Politics
- Download full text (pdf) of The Squatters' Movement in Europe: A Durable Struggle for Social Autonomy in Urban Politics
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AUTONOMOUS ACTIVIST-RESEARCH The case of the squatters' movement in Madrid
Part of Revista Internacional de Sociologia, p. 165-184, 2012
- DOI for AUTONOMOUS ACTIVIST-RESEARCH The case of the squatters' movement in Madrid
- Download full text (pdf) of AUTONOMOUS ACTIVIST-RESEARCH The case of the squatters' movement in Madrid
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Participación ciudadana en las agendas 21 locales: cuestiones críticas de la gobernanza urbana
Part of Scripta Nova, p. 1-11, 2011
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Part of International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, p. 147-171, 2011
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Dimensiones múltiples de la participación ciudadana en la planificación espacial
Part of REVISTA ESPANOLA DE INVESTIGACIONES SOCIOLOGICAS, p. 21-41, 2011
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Complexity and participation: the path of strategic invention
Part of ISR. Interdisciplinary science review, p. 153-177, 2008
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The squatters' movement: Urban counter-culture and alter-globalization dynamics
Part of South European Society & Politics, p. 379-398, 2007
Books
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Centros sociales autogestionados: Por una reapropiación colectiva de la ciudad
Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2025
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Squatters in the Capitalist City: Housing, Justice, and Urban Politics
Routledge, 2020
- DOI for Squatters in the Capitalist City: Housing, Justice, and Urban Politics
- Download full text (pdf) of Squatters in the Capitalist City: Housing, Justice, and Urban Politics
Chapters in book
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Mouvements sociaux urbains et gouvernments municipalistes: alliances, tensions et réalisations
Part of Villes rebelles, Éditions du Croquant, 2025
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Part of The Routledge Hispanic Studies Companion to Twentieth-And Twenty-First Century Spain, p. 49-62, Routledge, 2025
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The Autonomy of Struggles and the Self-Management of Squats: Legacies of Intertwined Movements
Part of Subverting Politics, Black Rose Books, 2024
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Looking forward: a research agenda for contemporary urban sociology
Part of Research Handbook on Urban Sociology, p. 583-607, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024
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Social and critical features of urban sociology
Part of Research Handbook on Urban Sociology, p. 26-49, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024
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Introduction to the Research Handbook on Urban Sociology
Part of Research Handbook on Urban Sociology, p. 1-24, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024
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Impactos sociales y políticos del movimiento por lavivienda liderado por la PAH
Part of La Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca, p. 275-300, Edicions Bellaterra, 2022
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Paraguas amarillos a la sombra de China: el movimiento por la democracia en Hong Kong
Part of Diez años construyendo ciudadanía en movimiento(s), p. 203-212, Edicions Bellaterra, 2022
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Acción colectiva durante la crisis pandémica en España (2020-2021)
Part of Anuariode Movimientos Sociales 2020, Fundación Betiko, 2021
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European squatters' movements and the right to the city
Part of Routledge Handbook of Contemporary European Social Movements, p. 155-167, Routledge, 2020
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Part of Comparative Approaches to Informal Housing Around the Globe, p. 110-129, UCL Press, 2020
- DOI for Squatting activism in Brazil and Spain: Articulations between the right to housing and the right to the city
- Download full text (pdf) of Squatting activism in Brazil and Spain: Articulations between the right to housing and the right to the city
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Framing Urban Movements, Contesting Global Capitalism and Liberal Democracy
Part of Contested Cities and Urban Activism, p. 25-45, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
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Introductory Remarks and Overview
Part of Contested Cities and Urban Activism, p. 3-24, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
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Part of Contested Cities and Urban Activism, p. 123-146, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
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Part of The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies, John Wiley & Sons, 2019
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Part of Skłoting w Europie Środkowej i Rosji , p. 5-20, European Solidarity Centre, 2018
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Shifting Socio-Spatial Contexts and the Space of Social Movements: Squatting in Seville
Part of The Urban Politics of Squatters' Movements, p. 75-97, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
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A Short Talk on Squatting in Spain
Part of Fighting for spaces, Fighting for our lives: Squatting Movements today, p. 308-312, Assemblage, 2018
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Autogestión de equipamientos y espacios urbanos: los centros sociales okupados y autogestionados
Part of Movimientos sociales y derecho a la ciudad, p. 88-102, Icaria, 2018
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La PAH y la emergencia habitacional
Part of Movimientos sociales y derecho a la ciudad, p. 54-70, Icaria, 2018
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Part of Crisis and Social Mobilization , Routledge, 2018
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Squatted Social Centres and the Housing Question
Part of The Urban Politics of Squatters' Movements, p. 271-288, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
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Part of The Urban Politics of Squatters' Movements, p. 229-245, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
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Socio-Spatial Structures and Protest Cycles of Squatted Social Centres in Madrid
Part of The Urban Politics of Squatters' Movements, p. 25-49, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
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Introduction: The Politics of Squatting, Time Frames and Socio-Spatial Contexts
Part of The Urban Politics of Squatters' Movements, p. 1-21, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
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Urban emptiness, ghost owners, and squatters' challenges to private property
Part of Contested Property Claims, Routledge, 2018
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Converging movements: occupations of squares and buildings
Part of Crisis and Mobilization in Contemporary Spain, Routledge, 2017
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Beyond solidarity: Migrants and squatters in Madrid
Part of Migration, Squatting and Radical Autonomy, p. 189-206, Routledge, 2017
Collections (editor)
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Research Handbook on Urban Sociology
Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024
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Resisting Citizenship: Migrant Housing Squats Against State Enclosures
Routledge, 2021
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Contested Cities and Urban Activism
Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
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The urban politics of squatters' movements
Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
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Skłoting w Europie Środkowej i Rosji
European Solidarity Center, 2018
Conference papers
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Grassroots struggles against housing financialisation
2020
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Urban movements and municipalist governments in Spain: tensions and achievements
2020
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Mortgaged Lives: On Activist Documentary about the Spanish Housing Movement
2019
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Social movements and the democratisation of local government in Spain (2011-2018)
2019
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2018
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Origins, development and strategies of the Spanish housing movement
2018
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More than just housing. The squatters’ production of the city
2018
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Detachment and Co-optation: Joint Outcomes of Anti-Austerity Movements in Spain
Part of Ecpr Joint Sessions Integration Or Cooptation? Dynamic Interactions Between Social Movements And Institutions, 2017
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Empty properties and legitimised Squatting: on class and classification struggles
2017
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Squatting and the politics of self-management
Part of Squatting Europe Kollective Conference, 2017
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Occupy and self-manage: squatters' approach to deal with urban voids and displacement
2017
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Against All Private Property?: On the Various Forms of Political Squatting
2017
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Cycles, waves and stages of squatting for housing and social centres in European cities.
2017
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Space, social control and resistance
2017
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Urban and territorial governance, conflicts and social movements
2017
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Comments on Nicholls, W. & Uitermark, J.´s “Cities and social movements” book. Authors Meet Critics.
2017
Reports
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El mercado de alquiler: fuente de desigualdad social
2024
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La PAH: un movimiento popular contra la financiarización de la vivienda
2024
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¿Cómo afectará el control del precio de los alquileresa los caseros?
2023
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Reclaiming space for workers in the 21st century: A literature review on worker centers
2021
Other
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Boca Sur (Chile): activismos autónomos desde la periferia urbana
2024
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Desmontando los discursos dominantes en el mercado del alquiler
2024
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Making a Scene: Urban Landscapes, Gentrification, and Social Movements in Sweden
Part of Acta Sociologica, p. 468-469, 2023
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Part of Sociologisk forskning, p. 197-200, 2023
- DOI for Elton Chan. The Last Urban Frontier. Commodification of Public Space and the Right to the City in Insurgent Hong Kong. Lund University, 2023. PhD Thesis.
- Download full text (pdf) of Elton Chan. The Last Urban Frontier. Commodification of Public Space and the Right to the City in Insurgent Hong Kong. Lund University, 2023. PhD Thesis.
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Part of International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, p. 577-579, 2021
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Part of International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, p. 396-398, 2021
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Part of International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, p. 812-814, 2019