An-Sofie Smetcoren

An-Sofie is an assistant professor and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of (Adult) Educational Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. As co-director of the Society & Ageing Research Lab, she is leading the research line "Housing and living environment".

Her research focuses on how urban environments influence daily life (e.g. access to services and care, housing, etc) of its inhabitants and thus how processes of social inclusion and exclusion take place in communities. Within her research she has developed a specific interest in the Brussels Capital Region. Adjoining this, is her particular interest to engage with the experiences of and to give voice to socially, politically and economically marginalised populations. In previous research projects she has mainly worked ‘for’ and ‘together with’ older adults, low-income families and people with migration background by using co-creative, participatory action research approaches. At present she is the VUB promotor for the Strategic Basic Research (FWO-SBO) project HOUSE 'Innovating housing for older adults and subjective wellbeing' and also scientific coordinating this project. In the past, she has worked on several national and European projects on housing and caring neighbourhoods such as CALICO (Care and Living in Community) project, Reno-Lab-C and Culturally Sensitive Care Ambassadors. In addition, since 2015, she has been a lecturer for the bachelor-after-bachelor program in Psychosocial Gerontology at Odisee University College.