Dr Glyn Robbins

Dr Glyn Robbins worked in housing for over 30 years, in a variety of roles. He has also been a long-time housing campaigner. His writing on housing has been widely published and he is often invited to comment on housing issues in the media. He is a two-time Fulbright scholar, specialising in the convergence of UK and US housing policy. His forthcoming book on union-sponsored housing cooperatives in New York City is due to be published by Cornell University Press in Autumn 2027.

Key expertise: Housing, Urban Policy, Comparative UK/US Policy and Politics

A current area of interest revisits the relationship between housing, racism, and the far right, building on experiences working in housing on the Isle of Dogs in the early 1990s while studying for a Master's degree at LSE. He is exploring opportunities to develop new research in this area, updating and extending earlier collaborative work undertaken as a Research Associate at the University of Sheffield, including research on equality and discrimination in housing.

Glyn is also beginning to scope a new research project with Dr David Madden examining the nature of temporary living and precarity in contemporary society. The project will explore how uncertainty shapes people's experiences of home, health, education, employment, and the wider environment, and the implications this has for housing policy and social life.

Glyn taught undergraduate Housing Policy at London Metropolitan University for three years, alongside modules on the Sociology of Everyday Life and Anti-Oppressive Practice.

In Autumn 2024, he taught a semester at Rutgers University-Newark as a Visiting Fulbright Scholar, covering a range of social justice and urban policy issues.

He was also a Visiting Lecturer on LSE's MSc City Design programme between 2018 and 2019.

Glyn is a long-time community and anti-racist activist in his home borough of Tower Hamlets. Most recently, he was heavily involved in building and organising a season of cultural events to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, involving a wide range of local civic, faith and voluntary organisations.