Peter Mackie was a Professor at Cardiff University in the School of Geography and Planning, where his research and teaching focused on two broad themes. He was a leading expert in the field of housing and homelessness in a developed world context. His research in this area focussed on examining rights-based approaches as a potential solution to housing poverty. His work in this field has had a significant impact on government homelessness policy in the developed world. Secondly, he had a keen and long-standing interest in urban livelihoods and the informal economy. Within this broad theme he has explored issues of child labour, rights to public space, access to microfinance, and livelihoods during conflict and crises. In all of Peter’s research he has sought to understand the experiences of people in poverty from their own perspectives by adopting and developing participatory research methods. He was also engaged in data linkage with administrative data sets.