Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content
Laura Pottinger

Laura Pottinger

Dr

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8833-8975

Personal profile

Overview

I am a cultural geographer interested in everyday forms of social and environmental activism. My research draws on participatory and ethnographic methodologies, and focuses on practices of making, cultivation and consumption; sharing economies; and young people’s politics. I completed my PhD in Human Geography at the University of Manchester in 2015, which looked at seed saving and exchange in the UK. The project followed seeds and plants as they were cultivated, swapped and shared amongst allotment holders and gardeners, examining the embodied, emotional and affective dimensions of growers’ practice.

I am currently a Simon Early Career Research Fellow in Geography. My project, Making Slow Colour focuses on the practice of natural textile dyeing, investigating the relationship between slow, creative practice and environmental care. Working with textiles practitioners, it examines the diverse modes of collaboration taking place in slow processes of colouration, and the novel environmental sensitivities that may be developed by creating colour with plants and living materials. Carried out on a part-time basis over six years, it also explores the potentials and challenges of slow making and alternative temporalities in academic scholarship.

I am also Co-I on Methods for Change (Aspect, UKRI), which highlights the value of social sciences methodologies beyond academia. This project aims to create a platform to showcase innovative research methods that facilitate social transformation, and to demonstrate the benefits social sciences research can bring across a range of sectors.

I have worked as a Research Associate on a number of projects, including:

Working-Class Youth Voice and Inter-generational Justice in Manchester’s Devolution (ESRC IAA), exploring youth politics in the context of devolution in Greater Manchester with youth leadership charity, RECLAIM.

Unpacking the personal and political potential of cookery classes in low-income communities (N8 Agrifood Partnership), a project considering the impacts and potential of social cooking for those from low-income backgrounds, partnered with Cracking Good Food, Manchester.

Gender, Race, Disability and Austerity (Barrow Cadbury Foundation), combining qualitative and quantitative research to provide a comprehensive assessment of the distributional impact and lived experience of austerity policies on BAME women since 2010, with the Women's Budget Group and Runnymede.

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Sustainable Futures

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 1 - No Poverty
    SDG 1 No Poverty
  2. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
  3. SDG 5 - Gender Equality
    SDG 5 Gender Equality
  4. SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
    SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
  5. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  6. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
  7. SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
    SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
  8. SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
    SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
  9. SDG 13 - Climate Action
    SDG 13 Climate Action
  10. SDG 14 - Life Below Water
    SDG 14 Life Below Water
  11. SDG 15 - Life on Land
    SDG 15 Life on Land
  12. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  13. SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
    SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Laura Pottinger is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • 1 Similar Profiles
View full fingerprint

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Explore network further
View all 47 research outputs
  • 1 Participating in a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc
  • 1 Other
View all 12 press/media