Emma joined the Department of Geography at King’s College London as Lecturer in Risk, Environment and Society in January 2024. She was previously Assistant Professor of Global Environment in the Department of International & Area Studies at the University of Oklahoma and taught as a part time Lecturer in the Geography Department at Dartmouth College.

She received her PhD in Geography from UCLA in 2018. She holds a First Class BA in Geography from University College London (2012) and MA in Cities from King's College London (2013). Her research has been published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, Environment and Planning C: Society and Space, and Urban Geography, and cited in The Economist.

Research

Emma is an urban geographer and political ecologist whose research explores themes of flood risk, climate adaptation, environmental expertise and knowledge production, climate and financial risk, and urban water politics. A primary thread of her research centres on themes of urban flood management, policy mobilities and networks of expertise in Jakarta, Indonesia. A second thread of her research explores dynamics of climate and financial risk in coastal cities. Emma is currently a Co-PI with Dr. Zara Shabrina on a British Academy funded research project, titled Empowering resilience in a sinking city: a Decision Support System (DSS) for participatory knowledge exchange, urban simulation, and modelling. This project will use a participatory research design to facilitate collaboration between data and social scientists, communities and community organisations, and artists to produce a public art exhibition and a decision support system (DSS) for Penjaringan, a subdistrict of North Jakarta characterised by high flood risk.

PhD supervision

Emma is happy to discuss potential thesis topics and funding avenues with prospective PhD students who share her research interests. When contacting Emma as a prospective supervisor, please share your CV, and a brief description of your research interests, potential topic, and interest in studying at King's.