Dr Catherine Queen MRTPI CMLI PIEMA FRGS FRSA FHEA

Personal Statement

My research interests are largely drawn from my professional planning experience and I completed my PhD in Environment, Energy and Resilience at the University of Exeter in February 2022. My research, funded by ESRC and National Grid, broadly explored the real-world problem of the tensions arising from public disengagement from planning for high voltage overhead power lines. The research investigated themes of space, place, marginalisation, identity and belonging through a Bourdieusian lens. Outputs from the research included a novel conceptual framework and a new Typology of Engagement which can be applied to practice.
My research interests are informed by a career in environmental consultancy, most recently working for Arup prior to joining the University of Liverpool. This has led to a commitment to both practice and research led teaching to widen student awareness. I am a Chartered Town Planner, a Chartered Landscape Architect and a Practitioner Member of IEMA with over 30 year’s experience, mainly working in private practice. I have worked as both a town planner and an environmental planner and my professional experience has been gained through working on a wide range of multi-disciplinary projects in England, Scotland and Wales, including Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) for highways and energy transmission.
I recently partnered with Arup and the United Nations on the ‘Cities Alive: Designing Cities that work for women’ report and I am also exploring the transferability of my research into understanding public disengagement from climate futures.
.

Prizes or Honours

• International Collaboration of the Year (Finalist) (THE Awards, 2023)
• RTPI Award for Research Excellence 2023 (Royal Town Planning Institute, 2023)
• Commended for Partnership of the Year (Individual) (University of Liverpool, 2023)
• Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Award (Faculty of Science and Engineering, 2023)
• The Holford Prize (Department of Civic Design, University of Liverpool, 2011)