Research strength: Space, place and society

Our expertise

• Climate, resilience and adaptation

  Climate, resilience and adaptation

  We investigate societal responses to climate change. Recent work has included:

  • a vision for progressive climate resilience with Manchester Climate Change Agency
  • identifying and sharing good practice in climate adaptation
  • examining interpretations of resilience and climate adaptation
  • critical interpretations of insurance for climate resilience
  • exploring the use of small-scale adaptive technologies for smarter flood governance
  • examining community engagement in resilience agendas
• Public participation in governance

  Public participation in governance

  We consider how the public and interest groups can engage with governance agendas and practices. Studies include:

  • re-evaluating the concept of NIMBYism in spatial planning governance
  • exploring notions of capture and autonomy for people and interest groups involved in urban governance
  • participatory practice in climate policy and practice
• Sexual citizenship and geographies of sexualities

  Sexual citizenship and geographies of sexualities

  Our research analyses:

  • LGBTQI activism in a transnational perspective
  • sexualities, class, and consumption
  • queer mobilities, transport and migration
  • queer film festivals
  • queer placemaking practices and comparative urbanism
• City-region governance

  City-region governance

  This research considers the ongoing development of city regions in the UK and Europe. It has references to the development of new scalar relations and policy trajectories. The work considers the following:

  • Scalar governance
  • Civil society
  • Alternative economic policy
  • Social innovation
  • Foundational economy
  • Local and regional policy
• GIS and health inequalities

  GIS and health inequalities

  We investigate the links between where people live, and their health and well-being in the context of population aging and digital technologies, including:

  • Inequality in sports infrastructure and facilities
  • Green exercise and climate impacts
  • Disability and inclusive development
  • AI-generated walking metrics and monitoring
  • Urbanisation and health and wellbeing
• Sonic geographies

  Sonic geographies

  Our research explores how music and sound shape our understanding of the world. It includes sonic production and apprehension of space and place:

  • Sonic heritage
  • Sonic methods and methodological experimentation
  • Soundscape composition and creative engagement with field recordings.
  • Musical spatialities and imaginative geographies
• Critical historical geographies

  Critical historical geographies

  Our research examines historical geographies of the 19th and 20th centuries, including:

  • geographies of war, conflict, and resistance
  • historical geographies of city-twinning
  • geographies of religion, spirituality, and the occult
  • contested pasts, heritages and landscapes
  • archival encounters and methodological experimentation

Selected projects

• Selected publications

  Selected publications

  • Beel, D., Jones, M., & Jones, I. R. (2021). City Regions and Devolution in the UK. Policy Press.
  • Binnie, J. and Klesse, C. (2018) ‘The politics of age and generation at the GAZE International LGBT Film Festival in Dublin’ The Sociological Review, 66(1), pp. 191-206.
  • Holloway, J. (2022) ‘Moving sonic geographies: realising the Eerie countryside in music and sound’, Cultural Geographies, 29(4), pp. 547–563.
  • Holloway, J. (2023) ‘Sounding Folk Horror and the Strange Rural’, in R. Edgar and W. Johnson (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror. London: Routledge, pp. 286-295.
  • Qiu, N., Zhang, T., Cheng, J. (2023) ‘Examining the Impact of Spatial Accessibility to Rehabilitation Facilities on the Degree of Disability: A Heterogeneity Perspective’, SSM: Population Health, 23, pp. 101489-101489.
  • Qiu, N., Cheng, J., Zhang, T. (2022) ‘Spatial disparity and structural inequality in disability patterns across Tianjin municipality: a multiple deprivation perspective’, Habitat International, 130, pp. 102685-102685
  • Robinson, J.P. (2023) ‘Modelling military landscapes: archival encounters, model-making and camouflage practice’, in A. Cree (ed.) Creative Methods in Military Studies. London: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 99-114.
  • Jones, R.D., Robinson, J.P. and Turner, J. (eds.) (2015) The politics of hiding, invisibility, and silence: between absence and presence. London: Routledge.
  • O’Hare, P. (2021) Planning and Participation. London: Lund Humphries Publishers Limited.
  • O’Hare, P. (2024) ‘A walk with “that wild dog of yours”: tales of circumscribed, co-negotiated and adaptive walking practices.’ Social and Cultural Geography, https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2024.2308912.
  • Russell, B., Beel, D., Jones, I. R., & Jones, M. (2022) ‘Placing the Foundational Economy: An emerging discourse for post-neoliberal economic development.’ Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 54(6), pp. 1–17.
  • Stella, F. and Binnie, J. (2024) ‘Homing desires: Transnational queer migrants negotiating homes and homelands in Scotland’. The Sociological Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380261241244654