Economy, Culture, Space overview

The Economy, Culture, Space research theme currently has 12 staff. It includes leading groups of economic geographers and of social and cultural geographers. It has an international reputation for innovative and outstanding research in human geography.

Retailing and consumption 
  • Research on retailing and consumption has included analyses of the globalisation of retail firms and global retail and production networks; understandings of unsupportive urban food environments and their links to public health; conceptualisations of ethical consumption and relationships between gender, identity and home consumption.
Health and welfare 
  • Studies of health and welfare have examined the geographies of heath-related behaviour and contemporary psychiatric asylums and primary care; voluntary welfare provision and the growth of therapeutic organisations; and homelessness. Theme members are also participants in the research programmes of the Centre for Geographical Health Research.
design council london 
  • In the area of regional economies and development, members have made critical contributions to debates surrounding industrial clusters. Current research is examining the links between human capital, migration and regional development, and exploring creativity and agglomeration in the design industry. Another focus is on the political economy of developing countries and the significance of gender, ethnicity and class.
Urban equality and social change 
  • Research on urban inequality and social change addresses questions of globalization and spatial exclusion; social justice and the impacts of welfare-to-work policies; gender, technology and work; and the ways in which transnationalism changes urban communities and policies.
Natures, practices and policy 
  • Work on natures, practices and policy examines the relations between humans, animals and non-human stuff in embodied food consumption practices; markets for animal welfare-friendlier foodstuffs in Europe and China; interdisciplinary dialogues on animal welfare science, assessment and standards; geographies of biosecurity and agro-food networks.

Research has been funded by grants from the British Academy, the British Association for South Asian Studies, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Anglo-German Foundation, the Nuffield Foundation and the RGS-IBG, as well as by industry, and UK and overseas government departments, UNICEF, ILO and the European Commission. The group maintains a high international profile, with strong research links to universities in Australia, Canada, Italy, China, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Sri Lanka and USA as well as to policy communities. Members have acted as advisors/consultants to the British Retail Planning Forum, central government departments and Parliamentary Committees, local authorities, businesses and major corporations, United Nations’ agencies, as well as being reported in a wide selection of the quality media.

Please contact Professor Peter Sunley for further information about, and research opportunities within, Economy, Culture, Space at the University of Southampton.