Profile

Biography

Carolyn is a Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of York and holds a joint position with SEI and The Department of Social Policy and Social Work.

Career

Carolyn has a BA (hons) in Politics and English Literature, and it was during her undergraduate degree that she developed an interest in environmental policy and politics. She pursued this interest by first taking an MA and later a PhD in Social Policy based around environmental concerns and policy making, with a particular focus on the role of public participation in the policy process.

Carolyn's PhD was funded on an interdisciplinary basis by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Between 2004 – 2007 Carolyn worked as a research associate for the Stockholm Environment Institute on a number of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded projects. The main focus of her research has been sustainable transport and land use planning, investigating the barriers to organisational effectiveness and delivery.

Research

Overview

The main focus of Carolyn's research has been sustainable transport and land use planning, investigating the barriers to organisational effectiveness and delivery.

More recently Carolyn has been involved in a study focusing on deprived rural communities in South Yorkshire, assessing how residents access essential goods and services, and how these services might be better delivered.

Following on from this research Carolyn now leads on the University of York element of a new consortium project OPAL with Professor Mike Ashmore from the Environment Department, and members of the Stockholm Environment Institute. There are numerous elements of the project, but the York element of this research focuses on environmental problems in deprived communities.

Current projects

• Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network
• Inclusive and Sustainable Infrastructure for Tourism and Urban Regeneration
• Shift Towards an Evidence-informed Policy

Research group(s)

• Steve Cinderby, Stockholm Environment Institute
• Sarah West, SPSW/ Stockholm Environment Institute
• Mike Ashmore, Environment Department
• Piran White, Environment Department
• Gill Main, SPSW
• Sarah Wilson, SPSW

Supervision

In 2009 Carolyn secured funding for two MRes students. She is always happy to seek out funding opportunities in collaboration with potential students.

Current PhD students

• Sarah Hards
• Bishnu Pariyar
• Adriana Ford-Thompson

Supervision interests

• All aspects of sustainable development
• Transport policy
• Environmental attitudes
• The links between social policy and the environment

Publications

Selected publications

• White, P.C.L., Ford-Thompson, A.E.S., Snell, C.J. & Harris, S. (2010) Economic, environmental and social dimensions of alien vertebrate species in Britain. In: Pimentel, D. (ed.) Biological Invasions: Economic and Environmental Costs of Alien Plant, Animal and Microbe Species, 2nd edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton.
• Snell, C., and Quinn, C. (2010) "Social welfare and the environment in a developing country context" in Fitzpatrick, T. (ed) Understanding Environmental Policy, Policy Press. [In press]
• Wilson, S. and Snell, C. (2010) "Bad for the penguins... because they need ice and that to live on: an exploratory study into the environmental views, concerns and knowledge of socially disadvantaged young people", Journal of Youth Studies, 13: 2, 151-168.
• Snell, C. (2009) The Impact of Local Agenda 21 in England, and the Implications for Participation Strategies. VDM Publishing House Ltd.
• Marsden, G., and Snell, C. (2009) "The role of indicators, targets and monitoring in decision-support for transport", European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research. 9: 3, 219-236.
• Snell, C. (2008) "Climate Change and Climate Change Policy in the UK 2006-2007", Social Policy Review, 20, pp 69-92.
• Cinderby, S., Forrester, J., and Snell, C. (2008) "Participatory GIS and its application in governance: the examples of air and noise pollution", Local Environment, Vol. 13, No. 4 pp 309-320.
• Forrester, J., and Snell, C. (2007) "Planning Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Regeneration: Balancing a visitor-based economy with local needs in the city of York, UK", Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp 69-82.
• Hudson, J., Lowe, S., Oscroft, N. and Snell, C. (2006) "Activating Policy Networks: A Case Study of Local Environmental Policymaking in the UK", Policy Studies, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp 55-70.
• Marsden, G., Kelly, C., and Snell, C. (2006) "Selecting Indicators for Strategic Performance Management", Transport Research Review, 1956, pp21-29. This paper won the Charley V Wootan Award in recognition of a paper of outstanding merit.

Published Book Reviews

• Prasad, N. (2008) Social Policies and private sector participation in water supply: beyond regulation Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke for Journal of Social Policy and Administration.
• Rogers, P. P., Jalal, K.F, and Boyd, J. A. (2008) An Introduction to Sustainable Development Earthscan, London for Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy.

 

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Sustainable Development and Social Inclusion
• Introducing Social Research Methods

Postgraduate

• Introducing Social Research Methods