A fully-funded 3.5 year ESRC PhD studentship on the topic “Climate urbanism: sustainability for the affluent?”.
The studentship is part of the CAM-DTP (University of Cambridge/Anglia Ruskin University) and will sit primarily within the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge, with a secondary affiliation to the Global Sustainability Institute at ARU (Cambridge campus) supported by co-supervision from Prof Rosie Robison.
This studentship will explore how current urban sustainability strategies may work to protect privileged groups and promote affluent lifestyles at the expense of marginalised groups. The research will interrogate case studies in the UK and South Africa, with local institutional support provided during fieldwork in South Africa. There is flexibility in the focus and design of the research. For example, applicants can choose particular sustainability sectors and interventions they are interested in as case studies e.g. transport (15min cities, cycling, public transport), energy (renewable sources, e.g. solar panels), water (retrofitting houses around greywater re-use, boreholes, storage tanks). The research will use predominantly qualitative methods (e.g. interviews, policy analysis, workshops, ethnography) however again there is flexibility over the precise design.
Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to sign-up to attend drop-in sessions on Fri 24th Oct or Mon 17th Nov, and we will also circulate guidance on completing an application to those signed-up: register your interest in these.
Details on the funding scheme and application process can be found on the The Studentship – CAM-DTP and Postgraduate Study pages.
The deadline for applications is Tuesday 2nd December 2025. Online interviews are likely to take place on 16th January 2026.