Claire Pickard

I am currently a postgraduate researcher based within the Institute of Social Justice at York St John University. Prior to this, I completed my MA in Culture, Creativity and Entrepreneurship at the University of Leeds after working in a range of cultural policy and community arts roles. My main research interests lie at the intersection of cultural geography, social justice and community-led place-making in policy and planning.

Supervised by Dr Olalekan Adekola, Dr Pauline Couper and Dr Arved Schwendel, my PhD will use a narrative inquiry framework to gather the stories shared by individuals, the community and local government following the Boxing Day 2015 flooding in the village. By considering how these narratives have changed over time and affected policy, planning and flood management strategies, the research will investigate what factors enabled individuals and the community as a whole to find their bearings over time.