Dr Julie Newton- Research Associate

Julie joined BRASS as a Research Associate in 2007 to work on a range of projects focusing on sustainable communities and wellbeing. She is currently undertaking new research exploring what wellbeing means to young people.

She holds a BA (Hons) degree in Geography and PhD from the University of Sheffield. Her PhD was entitled “Gender responsive approaches to natural resource management in Namibia” and draws on contemporary gender, sustainable livelihoods and development debates to construct a ‘Gendered Livelihoods Framework” to examine the significance of gender relations to natural resource based livelihoods in communal lands of Namibia and explore the responsiveness of development policy to these dynamics.

Prior to joining BRASS, Julie was a Research Officer for the Wellbeing In Developing Countries (WeD) ESRC Research Group based at the University of Bath from 2004 to 2007. At WeD she coordinated the ‘Structures’ component which locates WeD’s research sites within regional, national and global structures of power, exchange and information. Julie was also a member of the WeD Ethiopia team where she assisted with the gender analysis.

In 2006 she was awarded a one year ESRC Placement fellowship with the UK government’s Sustainable Development Unit  within Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The placement explored stakeholder engagement in developing policy based on evidence from wellbeing research. It specifically focused on integrating a wellbeing approach into sustainable development policy. At Defra she provided wellbeing expertise more generally and specifically on the development of a common understanding of wellbeing and wellbeing indicators.  Julie continues to provide wellbeing expertise and advice on gender mainstreaming to a range of different stakeholders including the United Nations, UK Office of National Statistics and European Union.

Sustainable communities; wellbeing & sustainability; social integration & inclusion; gender and development;  children and young people; poverty and the environment; sustainable development; natural resource management; rural livelihoods; green spaces; agricultural extension; gender mainstreaming; culture and identity.

Newton, J. & Franklin, A. (forthcoming) Delivering sustainable communities in China: using a sustainable livelihoods framework for reviewing the promotion of ‘ecotourism’ in Anji , Local Environment

Newton, J., Franklin, A, Middleton, J. & Marsden, T. (forthcoming) “(Re-) negotiating access: researching skills and knowledge for sustainable communities”(submitted to Geoforum September, 2010).

Franklin, A., Newton, J., Middleton, J. & Marsden, T. (2011) ‘Re-connecting Skills for Sustainable Communities with Everyday Life’, Environment and Planning A, 43, 347 -362

Marsden, T. , Franklin, A., & Newton, J. & Middleton, J. (2010) Sustainability in practice: situated learning and knowledge for the evolving eco-economy, Town Planning Review, 81 (5) (special issue)

Franklin, A., Newton, J. & McEntee, J. (forthcoming) ‘Moving beyond the alternative: sustainable communities, rural resilience and the mainstreaming of local food’, (submitted to Local Environment for special issue of papers emerging from sustainable communities session at AAG, Washington 2010)

• Newton, J. (2007) Wellbeing: Contributions towards practical strategies to promote social integration. Paper presented at UN expert meeting on Creating and Inclusive Society: Practical Strategies to Promote Social Integration. Paris, France, 10 - 13 September 2007
• Newton, J (2007). “Gender mainstreaming in Ethiopia: translation of policy into practice and implications on the ground.” Paper presented at the WeD Final Conference (June, 2007), Political Studies Association (April, 2007) and the Ethiopian Economics Association Conference, United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, June 10-11, 2006