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Niamh Kavanagh

Dr

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0017-4903

Personal profile

Biography

Niamh Kavanagh is an urban sociologist and researcher in the Department of Architecture.

Niamh completed her PhD in sociology at the University of Manchester in 2022, which explored working-class experiences of displacement through a temporal, biographical and relational lens. Her research focuses on the interweaving of people’s lives with housing, cities, gentrification, urban change, place, and materiality across the life course.

Niamh draws on participatory, ethnographic and biographical qualitative methods. She has developed strong relationships with local communities affected by urban change in Manchester, and adopts a strong ethos of working with communities in equitable, gentle ways throughout research processes.

Niamh is currently co-investigator on a collaborative project focused on healthy ageing in North Manchester, exploring the potential for developing age-friendly communities in the forthcoming Victoria North urban redevelopment in Manchester.

Her previous research roles at Manchester include:

Lead academic on ‘Over-researched but invisible: a co-creation project in Hulme, Manchester’, a project co-created with Tina Cribbin (local community activist and poet) that developed collaborative, gentle and creative approaches  for understanding the varied impacts of over-research from the perspectives of residents in Hulme; Research Associate on ‘Co-Creating Age-Friendly Social Housing’, (PI: Dr Mark Hammond) a collaborative place-based project developing novel and innovative age-friendly initiatives in social housing across three areas of Greater Manchester (Hulme, Stockport, South Manchester), collaborating with older tenants and housing associations; and Research Associate on ‘Developing age-friendly communities in the Northern Gateway’, an interdisciplinary project exploring tensions around forthcoming redevelopment in Collyhurst, North Manchester.

Niamh has taught on theoretical and research methods-based modules in Sociology at Manchester, as well as dissertation supervisor roles. She has also delivered lectures at both the University of Manchester and University of Salford. 

Niamh is a member of the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group (MUARG) and the Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives.

Qualifications

PhD Sociology (University of Manchester) - awarded July 2022 entitled 'Urban Displacement in Salford: A Temporal, Relational and Biographical Analysis'

MSC Sociological Research (University of Manchester) - 2017

BSocSci Sociology (University of Manchester) 2016

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):

  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Healthier Futures
  • Creative Manchester

Keywords

  • urban sociology
  • Social Class
  • urban redevelopment
  • social theory
  • cities
  • displacement

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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