Profile

Areas of expertise

• Sustainable development
• Social inequality
• Environmental Policy
• Policy analysis
• Public participation
• E-Learning
• Qualitative research methods

Academic biography

I am a Lecturer in Social Policy within the Department of Social Policy and Social Work. I specialise in the links between social policy and the environment and qualitative research methods. I run two specialist modules ‘Sustainable Development and Social Inclusion’ and ‘Environmental Policy from Global to Local’. My main research interests are fuel and water poverty, education for sustainable development, public participation in policy development, and environmental attitudes and behaviours.

Between 2004-2007 I was employed as a researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute. I worked on an EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Science Research Council) funded project - DISTILLATE (Design and Implementation Support Tools for Integrated Local Land Use, Transport and the Environment). This was a major four year project to develop ways of overcoming the barriers to the effective development and delivery of sustainable urban transport and land use strategies. As part of this project I was seconded to University College London between February and August 2007. 

In July 2008 I was part of a team that received the Vice Chancellor’s teaching award.

Professional activities

I am on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Policy Press.

Research

Research interests and projects

My current research interests are:

Fuel and water poverty
Environmental Attitudes
Education for Sustainable Development
Public participation in policy development

I am part of an ‘Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation’ (ESPA) research project called Whole decision network analysis for coastal ecosystems (WD-NACE).  It is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of the UK’s Living with Environmental Change partnership. 

Research team members

I am a member of the Centre for Urban Research (CURB) http://www.york.ac.uk/sociology/research/curb/ and the York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI) http://www.york.ac.uk/yesi/
In York the WD-NACE team members are:

• Professor David Raffaelli (Environment Department)
• Dr. John Forrester (Stockholm Environment Institute & York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis (YCCSA))
• Neela Matin (Stockholm Environment Institute)
• Dr Samarthia Thankappan (Environment Dept) 
• Corrado Topi (Stockholm Environment Institute)

I work with Dr Gary Haq from the Stockholm Environment Institute on a number of projects relating to environmental attitudes and behaviour.

I also coordinate the second year undergraduate module ‘Environmental Policy from Global to Local’ with Professor Neil Carter (Politics Department) and Professor Piran White (Environment Department).

I am involved in fuel poverty research/proposal development with Dr. Mark Bevan (Centre for Housing Policy) & Harriet Thomson (SPSW).

PhD supervision

I have an interdisciplinary research background, and am trained in both quantitative and qualitative research methods.  As such I am interested in supervising a range of topics as long as they are relevant to the environment and social policy.

Current PhD students

I have supervised three students who have successfully submitted their theses. 

• Sarah Hards
• Bishnu Pariyar
• Adriana Ford-Thompson

I currently supervise Harriet Thomson (Fuel Poverty in the EU).

Supervision interests

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

Publications

Ford-Thompson, A.E., Snell, C., Saunders, G. and White, P.C.L. [in press] 'Stakeholder participation in management of invasive vertebrates', Conservation Biology [in press].

Forrester, J., Hicks, K., Kuylenstierna, J., Simon, J., Snell, C., Chadwick, M. J., Schwela, D., and Emberson, L. (2011) 'Governance of Air Quality and Stakeholder Engagement: Lessons and Experiences from International Cases'. In: Lidskog, R. and Sundqvist, G. (2011) Governing the Air: The Dynamics of Science, Policy and Citizen Interaction. MIT Press, Massachusetts

Fenney, D. and Snell, C. (2011) 'Exceptions to the green rule? A literature investigation into the overlaps between the academic and UK policy fields of disability and the environment', Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp 251-264.

White, P.C.L., Ford-Thompson, A.E.S., Snell, C.J. and Harris, S. (2011) 'Economic, environmental and social dimensions of alien vertebrate species in Britain'. In: Pimentel, D. (ed.) Biological Invasions: Economic and Environmental Costs of Alien Plan, Animal and Microbe Species, 2nd edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton.

Snell, C. (2011) 'Millennium Development Goals', Green Education: An A-to-Z Guide. SAGE Publications.

Snell, C. and Quinn, C. (2011) 'International Development and Global Poverty' in Fitzpatrick, T. (ed) Understanding the Environment and Social Policy. Policy Press, Bristol.

Snell, C. (2010) ‘Congestion Pricing’, Green Cities: An A-to-Z Guide. SAGE Publications.

Snell, C. (2010) ‘Millennium Development Goals’, Green Politics: An A-to-Z Guide. SAGE Publications.

Lovett, J.C. Hards, S., Clancy, J., Snell, C. (2010) 'Multiple Objectives in Biofuels Sustainability Policy', Energy and Environmental Science. DOI:10.1039/C0EE00041H.

Caraher, K. and Snell, C. (eds) (2010) Government, Public Policy and Management: A Reader. SPSW Publishing, York. 

West, S. and Snell, C. (2010) ‘Historic Mapping of Tang Hall, York: Methodologies and Findings’ in Atherden, M. (ed) A Walk in the Park: Heritage and Conservation in York’s Open Spaces, PLACE, York.

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.

Recent conference papers

Snell, C. (2011) ‘The International Decade of Education for Sustainable Development: case study evidence from the UK’  Prepared for the 7th Social Policy International Forum and Seminar Series, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, 26th-28th August 2011 (Invited Speaker)

Snell, C., and Brooks-Wilson, S., (2011), Education for sustainable development under the coalition government? paper presented at the Social Policy Association Conference, The University of Lincoln, 4-6th July 2011.

Snell, C. and Quinn, C. (2010) ‘Climate Change and Social Policy: responsibility, vulnerability and mitigation in an international context’, in Social Policy Innovation in the Era of Social Transformation: The Sixth International Symposium and Lectures on Social Policy: Conference Proceedings, August 27th-29th 2010, Hangzhou, China, ZheJiang University

Lund, J. and Snell, C. (2010) ‘Behave yourself! An investigation of the impact of tutor behaviour on the student experience of online distance-based learning’, The Higher Education Academy Annual Conference 2010, June 22nd-25th 2010, Hertfordshire, UK, Hertfordshire University

Snell, C. (2009) ‘Tacking affordability in water: findings from research studies’, Centre for Consumers and Essential Services Roundtable Seminar ‘What does universal service mean and are there links with equalities and human rights concepts’, October 23rd 2009, London, UK.

West, S. and Snell, C. (2009) ‘Engaging socially excluded young people with their local environment: lessons from the field’, Environment, Wellbeing and Healthy lifestyle, Institute for Environment, Sustainability, and Regeneration, October 21st 2009, Stoke on Trent, UK

West, S. and Snell, C. (2009) ‘Mapping the everyday: why do people make maps’, Annual International Conference of the Royal Geographical Society, August 26th – 28th Manchester, UK.

West, S. and Snell, C. (2009) ‘Historic Mapping of Tang Hall, York: Methodologies and Findings’, A Walk in the Park: Heritage and Conservation in York’s Open Spaces,  PLACE Annual Conference, March 2009,  York, UK.

Snell, C. (2008) ‘Using evidence in policy making: barriers and drivers’, Air Pollution Crop Effect Network Meeting, 24th – 26th March Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand.

Teaching

I am module coordinator for:

• Environmental Policy Global to Local (2nd year Undergraduate)
• Sustainable Development and Social Inclusion (3rd year Undergraduate)
• Graduate Research Workshops (MA Social Policy/MRes Social Policy/MA Comparative and International Social Policy)

I also lecture on the following modules:

• Introduction to Social Research Methods (MA/MRes Social Policy/Social Work)
• Social Research methods (2nd year Undergraduate)
• Introducing Social Policy (1st year Undergraduate)