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Molina, Irene, Professor i kulturgeografi, ssk Bosättning och bebyggelseORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-1074-2302
Alternative names
Biography [eng]

Irene Molina obtained her master degree in Geography and graduated as a Professional Geographer in 1986 at the Pontifical Catholic University in Santiago, Chile, with the thesis: El Programa de Erradicación de Campamentos en la Región Metropolitana de Santiago: Implicancias Socio-económicas y Espaciales. Her PhD degree from 1997 is from the Department of Social & Economic Geography at Uppsala University, with the dissertation Stadens Rasifiering: Etnisk Boendesegregation i Folkhemmet. In 2002 Irene Molina obtained the title of Associate professor, and in 2011 she obtained the title of Professor of Human Geography, especially in Settlements and the Built Environment, both at Uppsala University. Since 2004, Molina is a senior lecturer and professor at the Institute for Housing and Urban Research, IBF, at Uppsala University (Head of Dept. 2013-2017). In 2017, she participated in the creation of the Center for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism, CEMFOR, where she currently is Director of Research.

Biography [swe]

Irene Molina är professor I kulturgeografi, verksam vid tre institutioner vid Uppsala universitet: Institutet för bostads- och urban forskning, IBF; Centrum för mångvetenskaplig forskning om rasism, CEMFOR (vetenskaplig ledare), samt kulturgeografiska institutionen. Specialiseringsområden är Boendet, Rasism, Diskriminering, Intersektionalitet, Genus, Stadsplanering i Sverige, Europa, Latinamerika. Har intresse för teoretiska och metodologiska frågor samt relationen mellan forskning och det omgivande samhället genom konst, kultur och politik.

Publications (10 of 66) Show all publications
Polanska, D. V., Backvall, K., Richard, Å. & Molina, I. (2024). Predatory commodification and housing renovation. Journal of Urban Affairs, 46(4), 682-700
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Predatory commodification and housing renovation
2024 (English)In: Journal of Urban Affairs, ISSN 0735-2166, E-ISSN 1467-9906, Vol. 46, no 4, p. 682-700Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This study explores the renovation of housing governed by two tenure forms in Sweden, rental and cooperative housing. Based on a relational approach, we argue that despite requiring a similar need of maintenance at regular intervals, renovation in rental housing takes a substantially different form compared to cooperatives, regarding the extent of the work, the involvement of, and the outcome for, the residents. With the concept of predatory housing commodification, we aim at examining how the process of housing renovation is organized, what driving forces motivate renovations, along with how it impacts affected residents. Our contribution is twofold: firstly, we conceptualize renovation of housing as a commodifying process, within the realm of financialization, most often carried out brutally and contributing to housing inequality; secondly, our contribution is empirical as it covers housing renovation from a relational and contrasting perspective in a field that is still under-studied in the Scandinavian context.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2024
Keywords
Housing, affordable housing, inequality, predatory commodification, renovation, Sweden
National Category
Human Geography Architectural Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-528471 (URN)10.1080/07352166.2022.2088375 (DOI)000842114900001 ()
Funder
Swedish Research Council Formas, 2018-00061
Available from: 2024-05-23 Created: 2024-05-23 Last updated: 2024-05-23Bibliographically approved
Grundström, K., Grander, M., Lazoroska, D. & Molina, I. (2024). Sharing housing: a solution to - or a reflection of - housing inequality?. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 39, 2049-2068
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Sharing housing: a solution to - or a reflection of - housing inequality?
2024 (English)In: Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, ISSN 1566-4910, E-ISSN 1573-7772, Vol. 39, p. 2049-2068Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Shared housing is a rather unusual phenomenon in Sweden. However, due to the decreasing availability of affordable housing and a large share of single-person households in urban areas, sharing is on the rise and new forms of shared housing have entered the market. By analysing how shared housing overlaps with existing patterns of socioeconomic segregation and by interviewing developers of diverse forms of shared housing in the cities of Stockholm and Malm & ouml;, this article aims to evolve the understanding of sharing housing from a perspective on housing inequality. We find that while many households are sharing housing because there are no other options, others share because they have the possibility to share certain spaces and facilities, which makes life easier and enhances a sense of togetherness. While the first category is concentrated in marginalized and racialized areas of the cities, the other category is concentrated in well-off areas. Developers offering shared solutions in marginalized areas are few but do so based on a discourse of 'receiving less for more', while developers offering shared housing in wealthier districts are doing so based on 'sustainability' and 'making life easier', as the shared housing includes private facilities and services that aim to support an effortless lifestyle in districts with existing urban assets. The conclusion is that sharing housing is no longer solely built on community spirit and de-growth, but sharing housing is also a reflection of contemporary housing inequality.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2024
Keywords
Sharing housing, Shared housing, Housing inequality, Co-housing, Co-living, Residential hotels
National Category
Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-548373 (URN)10.1007/s10901-024-10130-9 (DOI)001313544700001 ()
Funder
Swedish Research Council Formas, 2019-00522
Available from: 2025-01-27 Created: 2025-01-27 Last updated: 2025-01-27Bibliographically approved
Gustafsson, J., Listerborn, C. & Molina, I. (2024). Struggling for Housing Justice - New Theoretical and Methodological Approaches. Housing, Theory and Society, 41(5), 581-590
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Struggling for Housing Justice - New Theoretical and Methodological Approaches
2024 (English)In: Housing, Theory and Society, ISSN 1403-6096, E-ISSN 1651-2278, Vol. 41, no 5, p. 581-590Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

How can struggles for housing justice act as a lens to expand housing researchers' understanding of the rental crisis and of the systems that underpin this crisis? By presenting papers from Sweden, Spain, Greece, Sweden, the UK, and Australia this special issue contributes with knowledge on how housing struggles can inform new theoretical and methodological approaches within the field of housing studies. In turn, the SI presents three tenets that together form a framework for housing scholars: institutionalization as politics, tenants as political actors, and learning housing justice. We argue that it is crucial for housing scholars to recenter on struggles for housing justice in their readings of contemporary housing systems.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2024
Keywords
Housing justice, rental struggles, activist research, rental crisis, financialisation, housing systems
National Category
Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-548004 (URN)10.1080/14036096.2024.2359113 (DOI)001232107500001 ()2-s2.0-85194560123 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council Formas, 2022-01384_3Swedish Research Council FormasVinnova
Available from: 2025-01-29 Created: 2025-01-29 Last updated: 2025-01-29Bibliographically approved
Molina, I., Galleguillos, X. & Grundstrom, K. (2022). City, housing and gender from an inclusive and intersectional perspective. Revista INVI, 37(104), 1-9
Open this publication in new window or tab >>City, housing and gender from an inclusive and intersectional perspective
2022 (English)In: Revista INVI, ISSN 0718-1299, E-ISSN 0718-8358, Vol. 37, no 104, p. 1-9Article in journal, Editorial material (Other academic) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Universidad de Chile, 2022
National Category
Architecture Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-480116 (URN)10.5354/0718-8358.2022.66855 (DOI)000812366600001 ()
Available from: 2022-07-07 Created: 2022-07-07 Last updated: 2025-02-24Bibliographically approved
Teodorescu, D. & Molina, I. (2022). En modig stadsplanering. PLAN, 75(7), 6-11
Open this publication in new window or tab >>En modig stadsplanering
2022 (Swedish)In: PLAN, ISSN 0032-0560, Vol. 75, no 7, p. 6-11Article in journal (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.)) Published
Abstract [sv]

Hur skulle planering som tar hänsyn till allas rätt till staden se ut? Denna fråga har länge varit aktuell men fått större relevans när det gäller inkluderingen av fattiga EU-migranter som tar sig till rikare delar av regionen i jakten på en bättre försörjning. Dominic Teodorescus och Irene Molinas kulturgeografiska forskning studerar skeenden som placerar och kvarhåller rumänska romer och andra EU-migranter i osäkra levnads- och bostadsförhållanden i Sverige.

National Category
Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-494254 (URN)
Available from: 2023-01-17 Created: 2023-01-17 Last updated: 2023-01-24Bibliographically approved
Listerborn, C. & Molina, I. (2022). Rätten till bostad eller kris i bostadsfrågan. In: Niklas Altermark; Magnus Dahlstedt (Ed.), Bortom systemskiftet: mot en ny gemenskap (pp. 483-515). Stockholm: Verbal
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Rätten till bostad eller kris i bostadsfrågan
2022 (Swedish)In: Bortom systemskiftet: mot en ny gemenskap / [ed] Niklas Altermark; Magnus Dahlstedt, Stockholm: Verbal , 2022, p. 483-515Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Systemskiftet har haft ett stort genomslag när det kommer till bostadsmarknaden och bostadspolitiken. Transformationerna har varit omfattande vad gäller den avregleringen av bostadstadssektorn och det offentligas roll, med ett närmast absolut tillbakadragande från statens sida. Det finns i dagsläget ingen vare sig offentlig eller privat instans som tar ansvar för de bostadssociala frågorna på statlig nivå, medan manöverutrymmet är begränsat för kommunerna. Samtidigt som stat och kommun kapitulerar i sitt sociala ansvar ökar bostadsojämlikheten och krisen för de som efterfrågar bostäder till rimliga priser intensifieras. Den allmännyttiga hyresrätten, som historiskt varit arbetarklassens viktigaste marknad, har försvagats och beståndet har till och med minskat i antal från systemskiftets början i tidigt 1990-tal.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Verbal, 2022
Keywords
systemskifte, bostäder, bostadsojämlikhet
National Category
Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-519978 (URN)978-91-89155-91-6 (ISBN)
Available from: 2024-01-10 Created: 2024-01-10 Last updated: 2024-03-18Bibliographically approved
Teodorescu, D. & Molina, I. (2021). Roma street-workers in Uppsala: racialised poverty and super precarious housing conditions in Romania and Sweden. International journal of housing policy, 21(3), 401-422
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Roma street-workers in Uppsala: racialised poverty and super precarious housing conditions in Romania and Sweden
2021 (English)In: International journal of housing policy, ISSN 1949-1247, E-ISSN 1949-1255, Vol. 21, no 3, p. 401-422Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Using a combination of a political economy approach for the analysis of housing with a postcolonial approach to mobility patterns of the racialised and impoverished Roma in Europe, we reflect on the relationship between racialisation and the precarious living and housing conditions of the Eastern European Roma who move from the poorer to the richer countries of the European Union. Through a qualitative and multi-sited approach to housing, we reveal the situation of permanent displacement for racialised Romanian Roma groups in both Sweden and Romania. We have followed Roma street-workers who come to Sweden for earning income in order to improve their homes in Romania, but once there, they are exposed to homelessness, harsh weather conditions, racism and discrimination. We found that the super precarious conditions of housing in Romania push the migrant Roma into even worse housing and living conditions in the destination country, completing a vicious circle of forced nomadism in which the lack of right to decent housing and permanent risk of displacement are central aspects. This article merges the interests of urban and housing researchers with those from the postcolonial tradition.

National Category
Social and Economic Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-429434 (URN)10.1080/19491247.2020.1854950 (DOI)000687227300003 ()
Available from: 2020-12-23 Created: 2020-12-23 Last updated: 2022-07-06Bibliographically approved
Listerborn, C., Molina, I. & Richard, Å. (2020). Claiming the right to dignity: New organizations for housing justice in neoliberal Sweden. Radical housing journal, 2(1), 119-137
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Claiming the right to dignity: New organizations for housing justice in neoliberal Sweden
2020 (English)In: Radical housing journal, ISSN 2632-2870, Vol. 2, no 1, p. 119-137Article in journal (Other academic) Published
Abstract [en]

The lack of affordable housing for people with low income, shrinkingpublic resources, and new political conflicts threaten the availability ofhousing, at the same time as aggressive forms of urban renewal arecausing displacement through ‘renoviction’, putting tenants in criticalsituations. In this article, we focus on the acts of resistance and newsocial organization trends that have emerged in relation to the praxis ofrenoviction used by landlords and other local authorities, and thefrustration caused by this praxis. We claim that these new forms oforganization are using the concept of renoviction in articulating currentstruggles for housing justice. Methodologically, we point out thenecessity of urban research conducted in close collaboration withactivism, as a way for mutual learning and support. Moreover, wesuggest that these acts of resistance should be understood as happeningwithin a broader context of economic and political changes affectingthe housing market, and in relation to the increased racialization ofpoverty and territorial stigmatization in Swedish cities. To illustrate andthen strive to understand the ongoing resistance and demands forhousing justice, we focus on national activist networks emerging inresponse to the neoliberal housing crisis. We maintain that emergingresistance in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Uppsala represents agrowing claim for housing justice. This resistance is based on people’severyday lives and is a cry for dignity in neighborhoods neglected byhousing companies.

Keywords
activism, dignity, resistance, neoliberal housing policies
National Category
Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-410309 (URN)
Available from: 2020-05-14 Created: 2020-05-14 Last updated: 2021-08-23Bibliographically approved
Molina, I. (2020). Is there a non-socialist Swedish feminism?. The European Journal of Women's Studies, 27(3), 301-309
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Is there a non-socialist Swedish feminism?
2020 (English)In: The European Journal of Women's Studies, ISSN 1350-5068, E-ISSN 1461-7420, Vol. 27, no 3, p. 301-309Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Based on a narrative of the recent history of postcolonial feminism within and outside the Swedish academic world, this article discusses the controversial relationship between feminism and politics. Installing a socialist inspired perspective on intersectionality in Swedish feminist debates and in gender research has been a hard task for postcolonial feminists in a society whose self-imagination excludes the recognition of racism as a fundamental component of the national identity. Moreover, as the country moves rapidly towards a neoliberalization of the former Keynesian Swedish welfare state, racism and homo-nationalism spreads out and permeates the political sphere and state institutions. The author emphasizes the importance for postcolonial feminists to continuously highlight the chasm that exists between neoliberal understandings of gender equality, which are not meant to eradicate structural class, gender, racial or other social inequalities, and those emanating from socialist and anti-racist feministic ontologies.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2020
Keywords
Anti-racism, feminism, intersectionality, socialism, Sweden
National Category
Gender Studies
Research subject
Gender Studies; Gender Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-421012 (URN)10.1177/1350506820930671 (DOI)000539356200001 ()
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2016-05144
Available from: 2020-10-03 Created: 2020-10-03 Last updated: 2021-08-23Bibliographically approved
Holmqvist, E., Jutvik, K. & Molina, I. (2020). Preserving the voice of the affected: A survey about the link between residence status and work, studies, housing, gender equality, and well-being.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Preserving the voice of the affected: A survey about the link between residence status and work, studies, housing, gender equality, and well-being
2020 (English)Data set, Primary data
Alternative title[sv]
Bevara de berördas röst : En enkät om länken mellan uppehållstillstånd och arbete, studier, boende, jämställdhet och välmående
Keywords
uppehållstillstånd, boende, arbete, studier, jämställdhet, välmående
National Category
Political Science Human Geography Peace and Conflict Studies Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-433282 (URN)
Funder
Swedish Research Council Formas
Available from: 2021-01-27 Created: 2021-01-27 Last updated: 2025-03-27
Projects
Gendering Housing ? Intersectional perspectives on housing provision and urban planning with emphasis on gender relations in Sweden [2014-01623_VR]; Uppsala UniversityNarratives of the Million Programme - Constructing Modern Cultural Heritage [F15-1145:1_RJ]; Uppsala UniversityNature as Culture: the (re)production of common sense; Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences, Center for Integrated Research on Culture and Society (CIRCUS)Socially sustainable housing and urban development – a global challenge [SAB20-0052_RJ]; Uppsala UniversityKnowledge and innovation in municipal planning´s strategies for socially sustainable land use and combating segregation: housing research in collaboration with Uppsala and Botkyrka municipalities [2023-00136_Formas]; Uppsala University
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-1074-2302

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