Santiago is a human geographer whose interdisciplinary research bridges feminist and social geography with urban studies. His work focuses on the lived experiences of austerity, precarity and housing financialisation in urban contexts. Using innovative qualitative and creative methods, his research examines how post-2008 austerity policies have reshaped everyday urban life, with particular attention to urban commons, grassroots resistance, and initiatives that seek to de-commodify housing and care. More recently, he has explored how austerity has impacted young people’s life courses and imagined futures in Spain, Italy, and the UK.

Santiago holds a PhD in Geography from Birkbeck, University of London, and has worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at King’s College London and the University of Manchester. He has published in leading journals, including Antipode, Dialogues in Human Geography, Geoforum, City, and Environment and Planning D.

In September 2025, he began a Marie Curie Fellowship at UvA with the project ROOMMATE, which examines how the urban housing affordability crisis increasingly extends housing precarity into midlife and beyond, challenging established conceptualisations of life-course transitions. ROOMMATE aims to: (1) advance a life-course perspective on housing to investigate housing precarity beyond generational framings; (2) examine the lived experiences and socio-political implications of prolonged housing insecurity; (3) explore housing alternatives and co-develop policies that address the evolving and varied needs of people ageing in precarious housing.

ROOMMATE (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2025–2027)

ROOMMATE investigates the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of undesired, precarious house sharing within the private rental market among individuals aged 40+, using Amsterdam and Barcelona as case studies. Economic instability, demographic changes and a shrinking pool of affordable housing are pushing mature tenants into shared accommodations. This project addresses a critical gap in housing research by shifting the focus from young adults to older individuals, offering new empirical insights into how age intersects with housing insecurity. By employing a comparative urban approach and qualitative research, ROOMMATE integrates life course perspectives with intersectional analysis to explore how lived experiences of extended house sharing impact tenant's health, notions of the future and progress, reproductive decisions and caregiving practices.

The project pursues three main objectives:

1. Advance a life-course perspective on housing to investigate housing precarity beyond generational framings.
2. Empirically investigate the lived experiences of mature house sharers and the socio-political implications of prolonged housing precarity.
3. Explore housing alternatives and co-develop policies that address the evolving and varied needs of people ageing in precarious housing.

ROOMMATE’s findings will inform the development of policies that address pressing social challenges, including prolonged precarity, demographic ageing and the care crisis. By examining how heterogenous, community-oriented housing models can become more socially and economically inclusive, the project seeks to advance an understanding of housing as a social infrastructure – one capable of supporting diverse family choices, household configurations, care needs and environmental sustainability.