![Joe Williams](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1899?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Joe Williams
Lecturer in Human Geography
School of Geography and Planning
- WilliamsJ168@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 79646
- Glamorgan Building, Room 1.59, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Human Geographer, based in the School of Geography and Planning. My research aims to understand the changing relationships between environment and society. My main areas of interest are in:
- Urban political ecology
- The politics of water and energy infrastructure
- Global development and environment
I teach on a range of topics within Geography, including global environmental challenges, development and social science research methods.
Publication
2023
- Williams, J., Beveridge, R. and Mayaux, P. 2023. Unconventional waters: A critical understanding of desalination and wastewater reuse. Water Alternatives 16(2), pp. 429-443.
2022
- Williams, J. 2022. Desalination in the 21st Century : a critical review of trends and debates at the water desalination frontier. Water Alternatives 15(2), pp. 193-217.
- Williams, J. and Love, W. 2022. Low carbon research and teaching in geography: pathways and perspectives. Professional Geographer 74(1), pp. 41-51. (10.1080/00330124.2021.1977156)
2021
- Williams, J. 2021. "Money is not the problem": the slow financialization of Kenya's water sector. Antipode 53(6), pp. 1873-1894. (10.1111/anti.12755)
Articles
- Williams, J., Beveridge, R. and Mayaux, P. 2023. Unconventional waters: A critical understanding of desalination and wastewater reuse. Water Alternatives 16(2), pp. 429-443.
- Williams, J. 2022. Desalination in the 21st Century : a critical review of trends and debates at the water desalination frontier. Water Alternatives 15(2), pp. 193-217.
- Williams, J. and Love, W. 2022. Low carbon research and teaching in geography: pathways and perspectives. Professional Geographer 74(1), pp. 41-51. (10.1080/00330124.2021.1977156)
- Williams, J. 2021. "Money is not the problem": the slow financialization of Kenya's water sector. Antipode 53(6), pp. 1873-1894. (10.1111/anti.12755)
Research
My research focuses on the politics of water and energy infrastructure as a lens for critically understanding social and ecological challenges, such as climate change. My current work looks at how infrastructure corridors are changing the geographies of global development, with an empirical focus on the financialization of water services in Kenya.
I have a long-standing research interest in the proliferation of seawater desalination as a source of 'new' water in diverse contexts around the world, particularly in cities. Although not well understood, desalination now supplies water for about half a billion people globally and has quietly become one of the most important urban metabolic transformations in the 21st Century, offering important insights on how societies are responding to issues like water security.
My research has been published in a wide range of international academic journals, as well as books and online collections.
Biography
Qualifications
- PhD Human Geography, University of Manchester, 2017.
- MSc Environment and Development, University of Edinburgh, 2012.
- BA Geography, University of Manchester, 2011.
Career
- Lecturer in Human Geography, Cardiff University, 2021–present.
- Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Bristol, 2020–2021.
- Assistant Professor in Human Geography, Durham University, 2017–2020.
- Teaching Fellow in Geography, Durham University, 2016–2017.
Membership
- Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
- Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.
Academic Appointments
- External Examiner at Glasgow Caledonian University, 2019–2023.
- External Examiner at University of Gloucestershire, 2020–2024.
