Holly Rooke
School of Geography and Planning
PhD Student
- Profile
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Prior to starting my PhD I worked in the charity sector, mainly supporting people experiencing homelessness in Bristol. I had several frontline and managerial roles, including coordinating an emergency accommodation project that provided safe shelter to over 300 people during the Covid-19 pandemic, and working as a specialist assessment worker with asylum seekers and refugees. I have also previously worked in local government policy.
I have a BA in Philosophy and English Literature (2017) and an MSc in Public Policy (2022) from the University of Bristol. I used my MSc thesis to explore the construction of illegality in UK political speeches about asylum seekers.
Alongside my PhD studies I work as a research assistant for Refugee Education UK and the University of Bristol on a project exploring the barriers that people from refugee backgrounds face in accessing higher education in Britain.
- Research interests
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Thesis title: Migration, Cities and Inequality
Taking a comparative case study approach focussing on º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ and Barcelona, my research aims to explore the relationship between people who have been forced to migrate and the cities they live in.
As of 2024 it is estimated that 1 in every 69 people worldwide have been obliged to leave their homes or places of habitual residence due to conflict, persecution, violence, human rights violations or natural/human-made disasters, a number that is expected to significantly increase over the coming decades due to the changing climate. More than half of those forcibly displaced live in urban areas.
My study will take an everyday perspective which centers the experience and knowledge of forced migrants, exploring both how they create change in cities and how city authorities and communities can better support their lives and livelihoods. This approach is grounded in my experience from many years as a practitioner and volunteer working alongside refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.