I spent a decade in journalism, which involved some fascinating experiences such as covering the Northern Ireland peace process during the 1990s. But I found being a hack increasingly frustrating both as a result of partisan editorial lines and because of the intense pressure on time and resources which undermined proper investigations. I began to write more in depth reports for think tanks and policy organisations, a series of which formed the basis for Ground Control, which was published in 2009. Between 2011-2014 I was the Royal Commission’s Fellow in the Built Environment and in 2013 I joined the University of East London (UEL) as Reader in Architecture, where I am Programme Leader of the MRes programme, ‘Reading the Neoliberal City’. My book on the housing crisis, Big Capital: Who is London for?, was published by Penguin in 2017, two weeks before the Grenfell Fire. 

 

I am a regular contributor to The Guardian, and a frequent broadcaster and conference speaker. I am a member of the editorial collective of the journal CITY and I am Chair of Trustees of Lambeth & Southwark MIND.

 

Most important of all, I am a mum of two small boys, living with my partner, who is an animator, in South London.