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Social Sciences
Special Issues
Migration and Housing
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Migration and Housing

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2025) | Viewed by 4737

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Regina C. Serpa

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Guest Editor
Department of Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Interests: the intersections between housing and crimmigration; the convergence of criminal and immigration law; socio-legal studies; arts-based research methodologies; migrant homelessness; housing precarity in the private sector; housing planning and housing rights
Dr. Qiong He

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Geography & Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9AJ, UK
Interests: residential segregation; mobility and migration (both internal and transnational); housing inequality; urban and regional (re)development; the critical geography of education
Dr. Anna Pearce

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Interests: asylum; migration governance; legal geographies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue will explore the intersections between migration and housing. Migration and housing is an emerging and increasingly urgent contemporary policy concern globally. Much research has been published on this topic in the 21st century, with particular interest being paid to the intersections between race, identity and housing precarity. These issues have gained heightened urgency since the 2007–08 Global Financial Crisis and the intensification of housing financialisation, which have exacerbated various forms of precarity, including housing evictions, marginalisation, and the growing inaccessibility of homeownership and other tenures.

To understand why migration and housing have become such a contentious area, this Special Issue focuses on the following topics: power and the social structures that act to exclude, control and punish migrant groups (and how these forces can be resisted); intersectionality and the role of housing in social identity and power; control and precarity amongst migrant groups; citizenship and the struggle for housing rights; migration and housing market dynamics; young people, homeownership inaccessibility and intergenerational housing wealth; housing disadvantage amongst highly skilled migrants and international students; and policy and practice interventions to address housing precarity and homelessness amongst migrant groups.

This Special Issue invites theoretical and empirical contributions looking at causality, dynamics and the role housing that plays in the experience of migration. Papers are encouraged that utilise interdisciplinary work, both in theory and method, and we are particularly interested in papers that contribute to debates and geographies that have been relatively understudied. We invite papers that address the following questions (but are not limited to these):

  • How do housing systems and markets reinforce (or reduce) social divisions and how do these processes impact upon different migrant groups?
  • How do migrant and other marginalised groups (religious, racial and ethnic) experience discrimination and segregation in different housing markets and tenures?
  • How is housing used as a means of controlling migration and migrant groups (for example, through monitoring, conditionality, penalty and behaviour change)?
  • What is the relationship between identity and marginalisation amongst varying migrant groups?
  • What role does citizenship play in housing inequality or in advancing housing rights?
  • How does migration (internal or external) impact upon wider housing markets and what influence does migration have on housing and planning systems?
  • How do (public and private) housing and social service providers respond to the needs of different migrant groups?
  • How does political discourse on migration influence housing policy and practice?
  • How can social policy respond to the housing needs of variegated migrant groups?
  • How do the circumstances surrounding migration of individuals and households shape housing needs, preferences and experience?

Dr. Regina C. Serpa
Dr. Qiong He
Dr. Anna Pearce
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • migration
  • housing
  • homelessness
  • social exclusion
  • race and ethnicity
  • citizenship
  • power
  • intersectionality

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 264 KB  
Article
Short-Stay Sedentarism: The Local Battle over Migrant Workers’ Housing in The Netherlands
by Tesseltje de Lange and Masja van Meeteren
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(4), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15040245 - 10 Apr 2026
Viewed by 443
Abstract
This article investigates the housing precarity of EU migrant workers in the Dutch–German border region, focusing on the Venlo Greenport area. Drawing on documentary analysis, 28 interviews, field observations, and stakeholder engagement, it explores how local governance, market dynamics, and framing practices shape [...] Read more.
This article investigates the housing precarity of EU migrant workers in the Dutch–German border region, focusing on the Venlo Greenport area. Drawing on documentary analysis, 28 interviews, field observations, and stakeholder engagement, it explores how local governance, market dynamics, and framing practices shape housing outcomes. While EU law guarantees free movement, housing remains excluded from the EU rights frameworks, leaving workers dependent on employer-linked or agency-controlled short-stay facilities. These arrangements—often overcrowded, surveilled, and formally temporary—become long-term solutions, producing what we term short-stay sedentarism: prolonged residence in housing designed to deny permanence. The study conceptualises the local “battleground” where municipalities, employers, housing providers, NGOs, and residents negotiate competing interests. Seven interpretive frames—nuisance/disorder, cowboys, human rights, NIMBY, shadow power, integration, and unwanted accumulation—structure these debates, legitimising certain strategies while obscuring structural deficiencies. Findings reveal that certification and enforcement, while intended to improve standards, often entrench precariousness by sustaining the short-stay model. Emerging integration-oriented policies signal a shift but remain fragile amid economic imperatives and spatial constraints. The paper argues that addressing housing precarity requires structural reforms: expanding access to regular housing, reducing employer dependency, and recognising migrant workers as long-term residents rather than temporary labour inputs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Migration and Housing)
22 pages, 309 KB  
Article
Migration, Access to Social Housing and Reflexivity: Migrant Engagement with Choice-Based Lettings Systems in the UK
by Deborah Menezes, Gina Netto and Sacha Hasan
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(3), 159; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15030159 - 2 Mar 2026
Viewed by 507
Abstract
The disadvantaged position of racialised minorities in accessing the UK’s social housing sector has been extensively documented in previous research, with evidence dating back to the 1960s. However, the specific challenges encountered by migrants remain under-researched. Further, attention has focused on the agency [...] Read more.
The disadvantaged position of racialised minorities in accessing the UK’s social housing sector has been extensively documented in previous research, with evidence dating back to the 1960s. However, the specific challenges encountered by migrants remain under-researched. Further, attention has focused on the agency of migrants rather than the reflexivity which underpins the actions they can take. These gaps limit understanding of the extent to which the impacts of migration on individuals seeking to access the social rented sector can be disentangled from the challenges associated with racial disadvantage. They also limit understanding of the nature of migrant reflexivity. To address these omissions, we employed a critical realist framework informed by a literature review to analyse qualitative data generated from a subset of fifteen individuals from a wider sample of a hundred racialised minorities living in the UK. Fieldwork was undertaken across four case study areas with high concentrations of racialised minorities: Tower Hamlets (London), Bradford, Manchester, and Glasgow. By exploring participants’ experiences of engaging with the digital allocation system of Choice-Based Lettings (CBL), we highlight the role of migration-related factors in determining access to social housing through online systems, including country of origin, age at migration, length of stay and education in the UK, employment trajectories, proficiency in English and familiarity with digital systems. We also reveal three components of migrant reflexivity: emotional, communal and strategic. We conclude that attention to reflexivity increases understanding of the distinctive engagement of migrants with CBL systems compared to other racialised minorities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Migration and Housing)
20 pages, 1654 KB  
Article
Behind the Scheme: Challenges Faced by Professionals Addressing Safeguarding Issues in Housing for Ukrainian Refugees in the United Kingdom
by Ashley Perry, Anna Markovska and Carter Smith
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(2), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15020089 - 2 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1072
Abstract
The rapid escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted many European countries to implement emergency sponsorship schemes for displaced Ukrainians. In the United Kingdom, the Homes for Ukraine scheme emerged as a prominent example enabling non-related hosts to accommodate refugees in private homes [...] Read more.
The rapid escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted many European countries to implement emergency sponsorship schemes for displaced Ukrainians. In the United Kingdom, the Homes for Ukraine scheme emerged as a prominent example enabling non-related hosts to accommodate refugees in private homes or other settings While widely praised for its humanitarian intent, the British Association of Social Workers raised early concerns about safeguarding risks within the scheme’s infrastructure. Key issues included the absence of a centralized matching system, reliance on informal arrangements via social media, and limited expert-led placement assessments. These gaps posed significant risks not only to refugees and hosts but also to frontline professionals tasked with addressing safeguarding concerns. Despite these challenges, research documenting their impact on practitioners is scarce. This article reports on findings from an online survey capturing professionals’ experiences of identifying and managing these safeguarding issues and the implications on their well-being. Results indicate that, although practitioners expressed pride in delivering the scheme, its rapid rollout, uneven local implementation, and lack of clear guidance contributed to safeguarding vulnerabilities and professional strain. These insights highlight the need for robust planning, clearer accountability, and culturally informed practices in future emergency initiatives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Migration and Housing)
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18 pages, 326 KB  
Article
Refugees, Homelessness and the ‘Move-On’ Process
by Sasha Eykyn
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(11), 675; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14110675 - 19 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1313
Abstract
In the UK, there are significant gaps in our understanding of the systems, processes and procedures that govern access to housing among refugees. Responding to these gaps, this paper presents research findings that offer insights into the institutional coordination of homelessness and housing [...] Read more.
In the UK, there are significant gaps in our understanding of the systems, processes and procedures that govern access to housing among refugees. Responding to these gaps, this paper presents research findings that offer insights into the institutional coordination of homelessness and housing insecurity in the lives of newly granted refugees navigating the ‘move-on’ process in Wales. Drawing on data from focus groups, peer research, practitioner interviews, observation and text analysis, this paper takes an approach informed by Institutional Ethnography (IE) to examine the gaps between refugees’ lived experiences of homelessness and housing precarity and what is happening institutionally in terms of homelessness prevention and response. In doing so, this paper shows the ‘move-on’ process to be a disruptive mechanism of forced displacement into homelessness and precarious housing. Meanwhile, the institutional preoccupation with private rented sector solutions shifts the focus away from what is politically ‘off the table’ for newly granted refugees in terms of state homelessness response. Ultimately, this paper calls for a reframing of homelessness prevention strategies to account for the institutional processes that variably condition refugee displacement following a grant of status in the UK. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Migration and Housing)
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