Karen Potter

Prior to returning to academia, I was an RTPI qualified Environmental Planner specialising in water management, wider environmental issues and regeneration projects within the Design and Regeneration team at a County Level Local Authority. It was due to the challenges experienced as a practitioner attempting to implement natural approaches to flood risk management, that I joined commenced PhD research focused on the institutional context of spatial planning and floodplain restoration, particularly the (power) relationship between planners and water managers and the cross sectoral integration of policy.

My academic background spans the natural and social sciences (Biology - Hons Degree, Sussex, Environmental Management - Masters, Sunderland, Civic Design - Masters, Liverpool), which lends itself to interdisciplinary perspectives on environmental policy issues, further developed in academia having been immersed in engineering and hydrology networks. My research interests include sustainable urban design (integrated water management, SuDs), hazards and risk management (flooding).