UCD School of Geography, Planning & Environmental Policy

My research interests fall under the broad heading of Environment-Society Relationships, and are focused on theoretical and empirical studies of the following interrelated themes:
 
Globalisation and the Rural Environment
Citizens, Experts and the Environment
The Social-Ecological Interface

Globalisation and the Rural Environment
This research explores productive and consumption processes that are (re)shaping the rural environment within the context of globalisation, the growth of environmentalism and neoliberalism. A major focus of this work over the last 5 years relates to processes of exurbanisation and the suburbanisation of the rural environment resulting from new demands from 'consumers' and enabling neoliberal regulatory agendas. This has included research into consumption-side explanations of rural mobilities including processes of counterurbanisation related to the consumption of 'rurality and amenity', the gentrification of rural space, the revalorisation of rural landscapes, and the design and management of housing in rural landscapes. More recently, this work has focused on 'supply-side' factors behind exurbanisation patterns, including neoliberal practices within development management and also the financialisation and globalisation of mortgage markets and its impact in fuelling speculative housing markets in rural localities within Europe¿s current economic recession.

Citizens, Experts and the Environment
This research focuses on the interplay between citizens, experts and politicians within environmental policy and governance arenas. This work initially drew on Habermasian ideas of communicative reasoning and argumentation to examine the micro-politics of environmental arenas and more recently has examined notions of 'competing sustainabilities', underpinned by latent social conflicts and cultural politics. Examples of research projects in this area include an examination of the role of residents groups in urban development processes, contested ruralities and social movements, and discourses surrounding sustainable communities and active citizenship. I am currently supervising a number of PhD projects in this area including a comparative study of European environment agencies, tourism conflicts in the Espinhaço Range Biosphere Reserve (Brazil) and discourses of heritage and conservation.

The Social-Ecological Interface - Resilience and Vulnerability
This research examines the sociospatial, economic and ecological interface in relation to resilience and vulnerability, particularly applied to resource management and environmental risks. The focus of my research in this area lies in understanding how societies or localities become exposed to external social, political, economic or environmental stresses and disturbances, and the capacity for positive adaptation to cope with crisis and risk. Examples of research in this area include projects exploring the restoration of damaged landscapes and the role of stakeholder-based social learning; social inequity arising from environmental protection policies; and the relationship between environmental attributes and health and well-being. Much of this work is ongoing or at an early stage of development.