About

Tom has nearly 20 years’ experience in research and policy roles concerning housing and community development. He has worked on frontline housing issues within local authorities and housing associations, as well as advising central government on a range of community-related policies. In his previous role at World Habitat, Tom initiated and led the The European End Street Homelessness Campaign. Tom's research is inter-disciplinary, focusing on the nexus between housing, the third sector and government policymaking. His doctoral research focused on models for collective ownership of housing in England and Canada, exploring some of the causal processes which affect the development of these initiatives. More recently, Tom’s research has focused on the supply of housing – particularly for low income groups – as well as models of housing and support for older people. Tom is active in the study of community owned assets, co-authoring influential research on this and contributing to government committees on the subject. Tom is the Principal Investigator on a number of related studies, notably an evaluation of Power to Change’s Homes in Community Hands funding - a multi-million pound investment programme aimed at scaling-up community-led housing in five areas in England. Tom’s recent academic work has centred on the causal connections between collectivised forms of housing provision and their affordability. In addition, Tom has co-authored articles on the private housebuilding industry, revealing important trends in profit making and value extraction from within this sector.

Specialist areas of interest

• Community-led housing
• Housing demand/low demand
• Homelessness
• The UK housebuilding industry
• Community development
• Social mechanisms theory
• Social movement theory
• Case study research

PhD supervision

Tom would welcome discussion on supervising students around any of the following areas

• Community-led approaches to housing and regeneration
• Alternative forms of property ownership
• Collectivism and social movements
• Housebuilding and housing supply
• Financialisation
• Comparative housing studies

Teaching

Social Sciences and Arts

Research

• Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research
• Social and Economic Research Institute

2023 Homes in Community Hands evaluation, Power to Change. Role: Principal Investigator. 2021 The Impact of Covid-19 on Village Halls in England, ACRE. Role: Principal Investigator.

Featured Projects

• https://www.powertochange.org.uk/research/homes-community-hands-evaluation-report/
• https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/blog-home/venturesome-blog/helping-communities-build
• https://www.powertochange.org.uk/research/assets-future-economics-outcomes-sustainability-assets-community-ownership/
• https://www.bevanfoundation.org/current-projects/housing-low-income-valleys/
• http://www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk/article/2020/11/10/creating-lasting-clh-legacies-the-road-to-2025-and-beyond
• https://theconversation.com/not-enough-homes-being-built-for-older-people-new-research-93602

Publications

Postgraduate supervision

Tom supervises PhDs on a broad range of housing and property related issues, including community-led approaches to housing and regeneration and community ownership of assets. He currently supervises Carina Skropke’s PhD entitled ‘Community ownership of physical assets in changing times’.