Mapping the changing city: Public housing, urban change and everyday life in twentieth-century Derry/Londonderry

Summary

Collaborative Doctoral Partnership with Inner City Trust

This project will explore how the urban landscape of Derry/Londonderry changed over the course of the twentieth century with a focus on the impacts of an expanding public housing sector. This will allow for a comprehensive investigation of how changes in the built environment impacted on a range of issues, such as everyday life, residential segregation, access to services, social cohesion, transport infrastructure, built and intangible cultural heritage, and access to the city centre.

The project will result in a comprehensive historical overview of housing in the city, bridging a significant gap in the historiography while also providing a strong evidence base for policymakers, planners, architects, designers and developers tasked with providing housing in the twenty-first century.

The doctoral research will incorporate GIS mapping technology (with training provided)  to provide a fully accessible interactive map as part of the project outputs. The map will demonstrate housing growth and change across the twentieth century and will include integrated digital data such as oral histories, images, audio, and film.

The project will use community mapping as part of its methodology, resulting in an additional layer of data on the map drawing on engagement with people who live in the areas under consideration. This will provide access to experiential information about everyday life in residential areas that is difficult to capture using conventional historical sources.

Research questions could include:

• How did public housing transform the physical and social geography of the city in the 20th century?
• How did housing policy, planning and design shape patterns of inequality and community segregation?
• How did residents experience and negotiate changing urban environments in their everyday lives?
• What can historical GIS and participatory mapping reveal about aspects of urban change that are difficult to capture through conventional historical sources?

Please note this scholarship includes a period of placement with the Inner City Trust in Derry / Londonderry. See https://innercitytrust.com/ for more information about Inner City Trust and its work.

Postgraduate Research Applications

The information provided, during the application process, should be complete and accurate, and should not contain false or misleading information.

If information is copied from elsewhere or someone else has written the application, this could be considered fraud. This includes the use of GenAI tools such as ChatGPT.

Applications may be rejected if there is a belief that information is false or misleading, including being generated by AI tools.

AI tools can however be used in ethical and appropriate ways, during the application process, to generate ideas and inspiration or to help with the development of a research proposal or personal statement.  The use of any GenAI tools should be clearly acknowledged.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• Applicants should hold, or expect to hold a relevant Masters Degree at a level equivalent to commendation or distinction at Ulster
• A comprehensive and articulate personal statement demonstrating interest in the subject area
• Research proposal of 1500 words detailing aims, objectives, milestones and methodology of the project

Equal Opportunities

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities.

Appointment will be made on merit.

Funding and eligibility

This project is funded by:

• Department for the Economy (DfE)
• Vice Chancellor's Research Scholarship (VCRS)

PhD Scholarships are available for this project and will cover:

• Tuition fees.
• A maintenance allowance of approximately £22,000 (exact rate is to be confirmed) per annum for three years, subject to satisfactory academic performance.
• A Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of approximately £900 per annum.

To be eligible for these scholarships applicants must: be a UK or Irish national; or have pre-settled or settled status; or have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

Applicants should also meet the residency criteria which requires that they have lived in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar for at least the three years preceding the start date of the research degree programme i.e. September 2027.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year, or part-time equivalent, funded from any source, including self-financing students, are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Students in full-time employment are not eligible for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies.

Part-time PhD scholarships may be available at a 0.5 pro rata rate of the full-time scholarship, which would require a six-year registration period.

The University will award a successful candidate one of the following scholarships for the project, depending on the funding available at the time an admissions offer is made:

1. Department for the Economy (DfE) PhD Scholarships
2. Vice Chancellor’s Research Scholarships (VCRS)

Please note that the Terms and Conditions for scholarships are subject to change for 2027/28.