I am a sociologist with an expertise on migrant integration and migrant solidarity, and I specialise in qualitative methodologies. Since 2019 I am a Lecturer in Sociology and Policy in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Aston University (Birmingham, UK). I am also Visiting Professor at the UIC – Barcelona as part of the Master of International Cooperation Sustainable Emergency Architecture, for which I run a class on ‘Camps, politics and space’, exploring the ambiguities and theories on residential segregation in camps.
My comparative research focuses on racial segregation and pro-migrant collective action, with a specific attention to social inequalities in urban contexts through qualitative methods. In the last ten years, I have conducted extensive research in France, Italy and the UK.
Prior to joining Aston University, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Leicester as part of the ESRC-funded project The Frames of Altruistic Action. I was also member of the French project MARG-IN (“Marginalization/Inclusion: Regulatory Policies Effects in the Long Run. The Case of Romanian Roma Migrants”) that explored the exclusion and inclusion dynamics of Romania Roma migrants France, Italy and Spain and that was conducted by Université de Tours, Université de Poitiers and Centre d’Études Européennes, Sciences Po Paris.
My PhD research was funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and focused on the persistence of the housing segregation of the Roma people and Algerian migrants in in Rome and Paris. It has been published as a book with Palgrave Macmillan: Temporary Camps, Enduring Segregation. The Contentious Politics of Roma and Migrant Housing .
During my PhD I spent research visiting periods in Paris at the Centre de recherche sur l’habitat (ENSA Paris-Val de Seine) (from January to April 2013) and at the École des hautes études en science sociales (from April to July 2013). From May to July 2015 I was invited visiting fellow at the Centre d’études européennes at Sciences Po, Paris.
Research Interests
- Ethnicity and Migration: Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Ethnic Minorities (Roma); Migration Governance; Racism, Stigma and Discrimination; Social Inclusion.
- Collective Action: Civil Society Organisations and NGOs; Social Movements; Volunteering; Migrant Solidarity.
- Urban and Housing Segregation: Urban Marginality; Housing Exclusion; Racial Segregation; Camps and Informal Settlements; Squats; Forced Evictions; Housing Careers.
| Migration Reasearch Hub ID: 4494 | |
| ORCID | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7935-0358 |
| X/Twitter | https://x.com/gaja_maestri?lang=en |
| ResearchGate | https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gaja-Maestri |
Expertise
Migration processes
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Migration drivers
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Migration forms
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Migration infrastructures
Migration consequences (for migrants, sending and receiving countries)
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Socio-cultural consequences
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Transversal consequences
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Legal-political consequences
Migration governance
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Governance actors
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Immigrant policy and law
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Migration policy and law
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Governance processes
Cross-cutting topics in migration research
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Transversal themes
Disciplines
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Disciplines
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Subject Areas
Methods
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Qualitative research
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Types of study
Geographies
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Scope
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UN Countries
Roles
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Aston University
University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Senior Lecturer -
International University of Catalunya (UIC)
University, Barcelona, Spain
Invited Professor -
University of Leicester
University, Leicester, United Kingdom
Postdoctoral Research Associate -
Durham University
University, Durham, United Kingdom
PhD Student -
Sciences Po, Paris
University, Paris, France
Invited Research Fellow -
Aston University
University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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Durham University
University, Durham, United Kingdom
TA Politics/Space: Drawing Lines, Writing the World (Level 3) -
Durham University
University, Durham, United Kingdom
TA Political Geography (Level 2) -
Durham University
University, Durham, United Kingdom
TA Political Geography (Level 2) -
Durham University
University, Durham, United Kingdom
TA Political Geography (Level 2) -
Durham University
University, Durham, United Kingdom
TA Political Geography (Level 2) -
Durham University
University, Durham, United Kingdom
TA Social Research in Human Geography (Level 2)
Research
Home, migration, and Roma people in Europe
| Authors | Stefano Piemontese, Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2023 |
| Book Title | Handbook on Home and Migration | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
Between Charity and Protest. The Politicisation of Refugee Support Volunteers
| Authors | Pierre Monforte, Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2022 |
| Journal Name | International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
From Vulnerability to Trust
| Authors | Pierre Monforte, Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2022 |
| Journal Name | Migration and Society | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
‘It’s like having one more family member’: Private hospitality, affective responsibility and intimate boundaries within refugee hosting networks
| Authors | Pierre Monforte, Gaja Maestri, Estelle d’Halluin |
| Year | 2021 |
| Journal Name | Journal of Sociology | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
Donne e rom. Segregazione razziale, oppressione di genere e resistenze
| Authors | Claudia Mantovan, Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2021 |
| Journal Name | SOCIOLOGIA URBANA E RURALE | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
Who Deserves Compassion? The Moral and Emotional Dilemmas of Volunteering in the ‘Refugee Crisis’
| Authors | Gaja Maestri, Pierre Monforte |
| Year | 2020 |
| Journal Name | Sociology | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
Brexit: Modes of uncertainty and futures in an impasse
| Authors | Ben Anderson, Helen F. Wilson, Peter J. Forman, ... |
| Year | 2019 |
| Journal Name | Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
The Nomad, The Squatter and the State: Roma Racialization and Spatial Politics in Italy
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2019 |
| Journal Name | International Journal of Urban and Regional Research | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
Bringing the Third Sector Back into Ghetto Studies: Roma Segregation and Civil Society Associations in Italy
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2019 |
| Book Title | Class, Ethnicity and State in the Polarized Metropolis | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
The Politics of Compassion: Immigration and Asylum Policy (Global Migration and Social Change). By Ala Sirriyeh
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2019 |
| Journal Name | Migration Studies |
Temporary Camps, Enduring Segregation
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2019 | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
The struggles of ‘migrant-squatters’: disrupting categories, eluding theories
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2018 |
| Journal Name | City |
Contested spaces of citizenship: camps, borders and urban encounters
| Authors | Gaja Maestri, Sarah M. Hughes |
| Year | 2017 |
| Journal Name | Citizenship Studies |
| Citations (WoS) | 8 |
Struggles and ambiguities over political subjectivities in the camp: Roma camp dwellers between neoliberal and urban citizenship in Italy
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2017 |
| Journal Name | Citizenship Studies |
Negative Neighbourhood Reputation and Place Attachment
| Year | 2017 |
| Journal Name | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
A Sociology of the Camps’ Persisting Architecture. Why Did Rome not Put an End to Expensive Ethnic Housing Policies?
| Authors | Gaja Maestri, Tommaso Vitale |
| Year | 2017 |
| Book Title | Architecture and the Social Sciences | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
The contentious sovereignties of the camp: Political contention among state and non-state actors in Italian Roma camps
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2017 |
| Journal Name | Political Geography | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |
Book Review: Rights, Deportation, and Detention in the Age of Immigration Control
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2016 |
| Journal Name | International Migration Review |
Book Review: Spreading Protest: Social Movements in Times of Crisis
| Authors | Gaja Maestri |
| Year | 2016 |
| Journal Name | Political Studies Review |
Suggested Research
Roma housing deprivation and segregation in Italy: An intersectional analysis of social navigation strategies of Romanian Roma migrant women and men
| Authors | Gaja Maestri, Claudia Mantovan |
| Year | 2025 |
| Journal Name | Ethnicities | Taxonomy | View Taxonomy Associations |