Louise Hantson is a doctoral researcher at the Migration, Diversity and Justice Research Centre
at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Her PhD project, Migration and Homemaking in
Peripheral Towns, examines how migrant reception and integration unfold beyond major urban
centres. Focusing on small and medium-sized towns in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia) and
Spain (Catalonia), she studies how local authorities respond to demographic change in contexts
marked by economic decline, substate nationalism, and the rise of far-right politics.
Her research bridges policy-analysis with migrant-centred perspectives that foreground lived
experiences. On one hand, she analyses how local integration policies are developed and
implemented through horizontal and vertical governance dynamics, including the governance of
religion—particularly Islam. On the other hand, she investigates how newcomers engage with
these policies and negotiate belonging, drawing on anthropological approaches to homemaking
to understand how they build attachment to place amid structural constraints and everyday
boundary-making.
The project adopts a comparative, multi-sited design across six towns, using policy analysis,
interviews with policymakers and NGOs, life-history interviews with newcomers, focus groups,
and participant observation. Fieldwork in Belgium took place between 2021 and 2023, as part of
the Horizon 2020 Whole-COMM project while research in Catalonia took place between March
and December 2025. Her work contributes a nuanced understanding of integration and inclusion
in peripheral localities.