Roundtable: An interdisciplinary conversation on the politics of place

The Centre on Constitutional Change is hosting a round table exploring different research approaches and experiences to examining the politics of place, with a particular focus on advancing research into economic inequalities, poverty and social justice.

This event will be an opportunity for academics and researchers broadly interested in spatial inequalities to share their research expertise and to participate in interdisciplinary methodological and theoretical discussions. We seek to bring together academics with experiences and knowledge from differing but aligned disciplines including social policy, economic geography, public policy, politics, and urban studies to consider the questions:

• How do we know about the politics of place, and what are the limits of knowledge?
• What methodologies help advance our research into studying place-based politics, policymaking and spatial inequalities?
• What do we think is important share from our experiences and disciplinary practices to advance research into poverty and social justice?

Places are free but limited. All participants are expected to come prepared to discuss and share their own research insights, interests, and practices but no PowerPoint or formal presentation required. A short blog will be produced and shared post-event.

The event will be hosted by Dr Hayley Bennett, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh, Co-Director for the Centre on Constitutional Change, and Co-I and Scotland lead on the Safety Nets project (examining devolved and local welfare across the UK).

Registration: Eventbrite 

Confirmed contributors include:

• Professor Mia Gray, Professor of Economic Geography and Fellow of Girton College. Mia is editor Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, a board member for Regional Studies Association. Her research examines the intertwining of the economic, social and political effects on the local decisions around austerity, the shaping of the local state, and local-central state relations. Recent publications include “Place-based solidarity: Crisis, austerity and the devolution of responsibility” in Geoforum.
• Professor Peter Matthews is Professor in Social Policy and LGBTQ+ Studies at the University of Stirling. His research interests mainly focus on inequalities in the urban context and how policy can tackle or exacerbate these. This includes socio-economic and class inequalities, as well as inequalities due to sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity or disability. Peter is the former editor of Local Government Studies journal, and currently co-investigator, co-lead of the Diversity and place research group on the UKRI and Local Trust funded Centre for Collaboration on Community Connectedness.
• Dr Laura Sochas is Chancellor’s Fellow in Social Policy, University of Edinburgh. Laura researches how power, political institutions, and social policy affect health inequalities, using mixed methods. Recent publications include: “Austerity as reproductive injustice: did local government spending cuts unequally impact births?” in Social Forces.
• Dr Clare Rice is a Research Fellow in Politics and International Relations at the University of Edinburgh. Clare's research interests are situated at the intersections of identity, law and political institutions, particularly in the context of devolution and constitutional debates in Northern Ireland. She was the 2021 recipient of the Elizabeth Wiskemann Prize, awarded by the Political Studies Association for best doctoral thesis in the ‘(In)equality and Social Justice’ category. She works across the disciplines of Political Science and Law, and has published widely on topics including Brexit, human rights, and territorial politics. Recent publications include: 'Consociationalism, Equality and Intersectionality: Lessons from Northern Ireland and Belgium
• Professor Beth Watts-Cobbe is Deputy Director at I-SPHERE (Institute for Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research), Heriot-Watt University. Beth’s research focuses on homelessness, housing and welfare policy, and the ethical dimensions of social policy problems. She a co-investigator of the Safety Nets project exploring devolution and localisation of social security within the UK.
• Professor Margaret Arnott is Professor of Public Policy University of the West of Scotland and an Associate Fellow of the CCC, Honorary Research Fellow, at the University of Oxford and Associate Director at the Centre for Families and Relationship. Margaret’s research interests and expertise include politics of public policy, constitutional politics, territorial politics and governance. She also has a particular interest in the politics of education policy and has extensively researched education policy making. Margaret also has extensive research experience of Scottish/UK politics.
• Jeff Collin is Professor of Global Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh, where his research centres on the regulation of unhealthy commodity industries and their engagement in health governance. He co-leads ACORDS a new NIHR Global Health Research Group ‘Addressing the Commercial Determinants of Health in Sub-Saharan Africa’, and is a co-investigator in the UKPRP SPECTRUM research consortium, leading its work programme on governance for health equity. His work in SPECTRUM includes citizens juries in Glasgow in 2024 and currently in Wakefield and Doncaster, exploring place-based approaches to reducing the health and social impacts of the tobacco, alcohol and food industries.