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About us Faculty of Spatial Sciences Organization Faculty board, departments and staff

Cultural Geography

Complementing the Faculty’s research theme of towards wellbeing, innovation and spatial transformation ’ and the University’s foci on ‘healthy ageing’, ‘energy’ and ‘sustainable society’, the research cluster has a research focus on issues of place, identity and wellbeing . In particular, we explore the relations between people and place, and the social experience of transformations in rural and regional communities. We seek to undertake theoretically-informed, applied social research that contributes to policy and practice, and makes a theoretical contribution. Our research is integrative, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary spanning social and cultural geography, landscape studies, rural studies, social impact assessment, tourism studies and connects with kindred disciplines such as rural and environmental sociology, environmental psychology, gender studies, social gerontology as well as the other disciplinary approaches employed in tWIST including demography, economic geography and planning. We use qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and have a particular interest in innovative methods including visual methodologies and location-based applications (social GIS). We study the lived experiences of local peoples all over the world.

We approach our focus on issues of place, identity and wellbeing from varying angles, including: community engagement; ageing and wellbeing; innovation and rural transformation; heritage; historical landscape change; perception and evaluation of nature and landscape; nature and health; death and burial; entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility; employment opportunities; housing and the living environments of various groups within society; social impact assessment; social aspects of new technology; governance of places; social aspects of agriculture and farming; social aspects of natural resource management; and visitor and host experiences of tourism.

Our research embraces the social relations between people and places, emotional geographies, and the experience of spatial transformation. We believe that knowing one’s ‘place’ is fundamental to the formation of human identity and to wellbeing. Forms of cultural expression such as art, architecture, ritual and language, and our understanding and appreciation of nature and landscape all interact with the physical environment in the creation of our individual and community life-stories. As such, the ways in which we construct and transform spaces and places manifest our imagination and self-awareness. In doing so, we make sense of, define, and celebrate our personal and collective identities, communities and localities.

prof. dr. T. (Tialda) Haartsen
Function
Professor of Rural Geography
Expertise
Rural Geography
J.T. (Jeannet) Brondsema
Function
Management assistant Economic and Cultural Geography
prof. dr. ir. B.B. (Bettina) Bock
Function
Professor for Population Decline and Quality of Life in Northern Netherlands
Expertise
rural development, social innovation, rural mobility and migration, rural magrinalisation, rural governance, participatory governance, animal welfare, rural gender, sustainable food production and consumption, green care, multifunctional agriculture
ir. B.M. (Bernadette) Boumans
Function
Teacher landscape
Expertise
Landscape architecture and urbanism
Tourism and heritage
dr. P.D. (Peter) Groote
Function
Associate Professor
Expertise
Cultural heritage
prof. dr. ir. C.M. (Martijn) van der Heide
Function
Professor by Special Appointment in Nature-inclusive Rural Development
Expertise
Ecological and environmental economics
Agricultural economics
Economics and policy
Rural development
Nature inclusivity
dr. B. (Bettina) van Hoven
Function
Associate Professor Cultural Geography
Expertise
Cultural Geography, qualitative research, participatory and visual methodologies, inclusion and exclusion, youth, older adults, disability and impairment, wellbeing, urban context, science-meets-arts
S. (Sander) van Lanen
Function
Assistant professor urban poverty & inequality
Expertise
I research the geography of inequality, poverty, and social exclusion, especially in cities. My expertise is in the following domains and their interactions;

- experiences of poverty and social exclusion
- coming of age in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
- social & spatial justice
- initiatives and interventions in the neighbourhood
- social infrastructure
- intergenerational poverty

View my research minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlpQR18n2Uc
G. (Gunnar) Mallon, Dr
Function
Assistant Professor in Physical Geography
Expertise
Palaeoecology, Climate Science, Environmental Chemistry, Machine Learning in Geospatial Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence

More about my Arctic research: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QDnQS37dgU] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih5w7si5cQw]
dr. ir. E.W. (Erik) Meijles
Function
Director of Education and Associate Professor Landscape Geography
Expertise
Landscape geography, earth & environmental sciences, soil science, hydrology, historical geography, GIS
C.L. (Christina) Prell
Function
Associate Professor
Expertise
Social networks and environmental inequalities; global trade networks and inequality; climate change perceptions and climate action; participatory stakeholder networks; social learning and participatory modeling; research methods training and teaching; social network research training and teaching.
dr. K. (Koen) Salemink
Function
Assistant Professor
Expertise
Rural Development
Community Development
Cultural Geography
Social Exclusion
F.M.D. (Frank) Vanclay, Prof
Function
Professor of Social Impact Assessment and Management
Expertise
Prof Frank Vanclay has a personal chair as professor of social impact assessment and management. He is highly-ranked in the Stanford University listing of the world’s top 2% of scientists and is a leading authority in the field of social practice/social performance. He has received awards from the International Association for Impact Assessment and other organizations. He has authored many key documents in the social impact assessment field, including the 2003 International Principles, and the 2015 international guidance document. A recent open access book is: Vanclay & Esteves (eds) 2024 Handbook in Social Impact Assessment and Management . His interests also include: project induced displacement & resettlement; business & human rights; social licence to operate; social sustainability; extractive industries & society; Indigenous rights; Free, Prior & Informed Consent (FPIC); benefit sharing; community engagement; and public participation.
dr. D. (Daniella) Vos
Function
Assistant Professor in Spatial Data Analysis
dr. ir. S.G. (Gerd) Weitkamp
Function
Associate Professor

PhDs

M.A. (Angelica) Caiza Villegas, M
Expertise
Natural History, Urban Wildlife Conservation, Animal Geographies, Nature-Human Relations, Biology Field Techniques and Bats, Bees, Birds and any Beast!
N. (Nour) El Alam, M
Function
PhD student
Expertise
Tourism Studies, Heritage Studies, Urban Studies, Cultural Geography
M. (Manuela) Ferreira Torres
Expertise
Cultural Geography
Children's Geographies
D.J. (David) Hicks, MSc
Expertise
Transport & Urban Studies: cycling, walking and disability; transport energy use; transport infrastructure auditing methods.
No picture available
Function
PhD student
T.J. (Thereza) Langeler
Function
PhD student
Expertise
Geographies of discontent; populism; place and politics; qualitative research methods
C. (Chengxi) Liu, MSc
Function
PhD student
Expertise
rural governance, rural gender, rural geography, qualitative research methods
M. (Marcel) Mallow, MSc
Function
PhD candidate and Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in i-CONN ITN
Expertise
Survey Methodology for the Social Sciences,
Qualitative Data Analysis (Atlas.ti) ,
Social Network Analysis (including basics of statistical modelling via ERGM and SAOM)
No picture available
Function
PhD student
J.B.I. (Januschka) Schmidt, MA
Function
Research Officer Manual Publishing; PhD Student
Expertise
place attachment, spiritual and cultural tourism, well-being, spiritualities and sacred sites in Japan, critical research methods
Y. (Yiying) Wang, MSc
Function
PhD student
No picture available
Function
PhD student
No picture available
Function
PhD student
No picture available
Function
PhD student
Last modified:01 October 2024 1.03 p.m.
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