Geography and Environmental Social Science

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Geography and Environmental Social Science

Researching people, place and environment

Our interdisciplinary research theme explores the complexity and diversity of interactions between people, place and environment.

We pursue our research in a range of geographical and social contexts to elaborate – and engage critically and constructively with – understandings of these relationships and approaches to their management and governance.  Our research encompasses questions of sustainability and resilience, set within a broader interest in systems thinking. Research undertaken within our theme is distinguished by significant capacity in the critical and applied social sciences and spatial analysis, and is advanced through strong commitments to theoretical and conceptual innovation, as well as practical research that can influence developments in policy and practice  The interdisciplinary basis of the group draws in perspectives from human geography, anthropology, economics, conservation and development studies, and has specific research interests in:

  • Land use change and sustainable landscape planning
  • Applied resource economics and environmental valuation
  • Participatory approaches to natural resource management
  • Ecosystem services and biocultural diversity
  • Political economies of development and tourism

Members of the theme are active members of the University-wide Kent Interdisciplinary Centre for Spatial Studies (KISS) and the School’s Centre for Biocultural Diversity (CBCD) and Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology (DICE). We also host a lively programme of seminar and reading groups that synergise with these wider centre activities. Members of the theme are currently convening a reading group exploring the multiple provocations of the Anthropocene.