Andrew Wallace

Dr Andrew Wallace

Associate Professor in Sociology

Andrew is an interdisciplinary social scientist whose work cuts across the disciplines of sociology, geography and social policy. In previous roles, he has worked at the University of Leeds, University of Lincoln, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Kent. His main teaching and research expertise lies in community and housing inequalities, and he has undertaken multiple empirical research projects exploring gentrification, displacement, urban regeneration and community resistance.

Key projects

Two of Andrew's recent research projects have been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

  • Northern Exposure: Race, Nation and Disaffection in 'Ordinary' towns and cities after Brexit addresses societal fractures and community tensions in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. It resists simplistic characterisations of 'left behind' communities and exposes the role of such imaginaries in undergirding English nativism. Instead, it posits an inclusive, multi-polar and differentiated account of post-industrial Britain based on oral history and ethnography in four towns and cities.
  • Prefabs Sprouting: Modern Methods of Construction and the English Housing Crisis investigates ongoing attempts to accelerate and discipline the UK housebuilding sector by shifting away from traditional construction towards factory-based modes of production. It explores what is a complex and flawed ‘modernisation’ project in the context of intense crises of housing accessibility, safety, affordabilty and quality in the UK.

Both of these funded projects reflect Andrew's interest in long-run struggles over social, economic and cultural 'progress' in England from the post-war period through the neoliberal counterstrike and into the polycrises of the present moment.