About us

The Human Geography research group brings together a diverse group of researchers that aims to develop and consolidate interdisciplinary research around space, place and society at Brunel. We provide a forum for engagement with geographical research, for sharing and receiving feedback on writing and developing new collaborations nationally and internationally.

Space is central to the development of social, economic and political systems and provides a critical lens through which to understand social changes and power relations. The research group is able to shed light on questions around space, place and society from a range of perspectives and disciplines.

Members of our group are drawn from across the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences and beyond: from the Departments of Social and Political Sciences; Education; Arts and Humanities; Brunel Business School; Health Sciences; and others. We therefore bring together different disciplinary engagements with space, place and society to reflect on issues of general interest among the group. We have a shared interest in particular in research into how policies play out on the ground in different contexts; inequalities of various kinds; partnership working for impact; and the use of creative research methods.

The group meets once a month, usually with a reading or theme to focus our discussion. By exploring cutting-edge research together, we both consider the implications for our own projects and develop greater familiarity with each other’s research.

Recent events

Experiencing and reimagining the university campus: critical, creative and equitable places of higher education

Our one-day international symposium on Tuesday, 30 April 2024 focused on the value and role of the contemporary university campus for academia, its local community and society at large. We considered what a campus is (physical, digital, part of the wider community); how the campus functions in a post-Covid, cost-of-living impacted world; and how we use the campus pedagogically and for other forms of engagement.

People, Place, Space: (Re) Constructing the Local and Global in a Diverse World

This two-day Brunel Research Interdisciplinary Lab brought together colleagues from all three Brunel Colleges to discuss potential interdisciplinary research relating to space, place and globalisation. Participants looked at how the intensification of global processes and movements has dramatically transformed our relationship to places and how economic, cultural, political, and social flows are anchored, facilitated and framed through people, infrastructures and places.