iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Dr Joanne Norcup @drjn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

My most recent open access paper with David Lambert (University of Warwick) in @areajournal.bsky.social #CaribbeanHistoricalGeographiesandBritishGeography doi.org/10.1111/area...

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MHoussayH @mhoussayh.cpesr.fr · 19/08/2026

That was in my reading list. And it's going to be in my master students' reading list for the spring writing course, as well as a reminder (through the checklist at the end) for my own writing. 🙏

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clementinecttn.bsky.social @clementinecttn.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Interesting reflection on how authors, reviewers and editors can use the critical curation principles of conservation, selection, arrangement, framing, attribution and accessibility to counter hegemonic citation practices (or at least actively try to reduce exclusions and imbalances).

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

New in Area: 'Reimagining the politics of citation through critical curation' by James Esson et al. This piece brings together insights from art curation and geography, outlining 6 curatorial principles for reorienting approaches to citation in academic publishing. doi.org/10.1111/area...

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

Bringing together insights from art curation and geography, this paper reimagines academic citation as a form of critical curation that fosters more deliberate, generous and grounded citational pract...

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James Boxall 🇨🇦🍁 @jamesgis.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Because I do #geography and taught for 40 years, I enjoyed this Monday morning read by Matthew Gandy @camunigeography.bsky.social @rgs-ibghe.bsky.social "Reclaim the Classroom! Arguments Against the Routine Recording of Lectures" (open access). rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reclaim the Classroom! Arguments Against the Routine Recording of Lectures

Reader environment loaded

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

New in Area: 'The spatial constitution of domestic energy advice: Opportunities and challenges for place-based net zero' by Neil Simcock et al. doi.org/10.1111/area...

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Neil Simcock, Sophie Laidlaw & Michael Landry' (2026) entitled: 'The Spatial Constitution of Domestic Energy Advice: Opportunities and Challenges for Place-Based Net Zero' with a black banner at the top.

This paper critically assesses the opportunities and challenges arising from localised forms of domestic energy advice (DEA) provision, within the context of emerging ‘place-based’ approaches to net zero governance. DEA will play a key role in achieving net zero by facilitating the installation and usage of low-carbon measures in homes, but there is little research that examines how the spatial configuration of advice programmes may influence their efficacy. This paper addresses this research gap, drawing empirical data from an in-depth workshop with 19 DEA professionals in northwest England and an analysis of evaluation reports from seven DEA organisations. The findings suggest that place should be considered a fundamental and active part of the DEA process, not merely a backdrop in which advice provision happens. Localised, place-based approaches can be advantageous for ensuring DEA is relevant to the circumstances of communities and individuals, and for helping to establish relations of trust between advisors and citizens. However, local DEA operates within a multi-scalar governance landscape, and existing national policies relating to the financing of home energy retrofits and the funding of energy advice organisations often hinder the capacity of local actors to translate advice into action. We conclude by arguing for a form of ‘progressive relational localism’, involving the establishment of a national energy advice network that would empower local actors and support equitable place-based decarbonisation.

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Lindsay Naylor @lbnaylor.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

New commentary out with @embodimentlab.bsky.social co-facilitators Naznin Sultana and Dr. @nusrattm.bsky.social - Decolonising Displacement and Re‐Thinking Resilience rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1475... Out in the most recent issue of @areajournal.bsky.social

rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

Click on the title to browse this journal

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

New in Area: 'Between boundaries: Reflexivity of discomfort with "significant other"' by Abdullah Al Zubaer Evan This paper presents a reflexive ethnography of a Bengali researcher researching Bihari minorities in Bangladesh. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

Walking through such narrow lanes of the Bihari camp meant walking through histories that were neither fully theirs nor fully mine. Each step carried an inherited tension and an uneasy proximity of t...

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

New in Area: 'Ponte en la Cola: Queuing as an ethnographic method to study food insecurity' by Vikki Oriane de Jong This paper draws on fieldwork in Havana, Cuba, to explore queuing as a means of collective sense-making of food insecurity and public space. doi.org/10.1111/area...

Photograph of people standing in a queue outside a building in Havana, Cuba.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

New in Area: 'Circulating blood and Qi: Leisure, ageing-in-place, and the internal bodily mobilities of older Hong Kongers' by Po Sheung Yu et al. This paper argues that successful ageing-in-place strategies must recognise culturally specific notions of wellbeing & place. doi.org/10.1111/area...

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

We emphasise the importance of internal bodily mobilities to older people, the related role of place and the culturally specific forms of leisure performed by older people to facilitate such mobiliti....

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

New in Area: 'A chronicle of disrupted flows—Bordering of the amphibious Bengal Delta' by Madhurima Majumder et al. This paper is part of an ongoing Special Section on 'Atmospheric Borders'. doi.org/10.1111/area...

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

The Sundarbans is often framed as a climate crisis hotspot, a perspective that risks naturalising a historically produced condition. This paper argues that present vulnerabilities are rooted in colon...

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Check out @juliandobson.bsky.social's recent Area paper on civic geographies of care, featured in last month's RGS-IBG Journals highlights ⬇️

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

New in Area: 'Blocking the extractive order: Political mobilisations and infrastructure disruptions in Sudan and Morocco' by Raphaëlle Chevrillon-Guibert & Mohamed Salah Abdelrahman This paper is part of an ongoing Special Section on roadblocks in extractivist landscapes. doi.org/10.1111/area...

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

This article examines how blockades targeting extractive infrastructure function as political tools in authoritarian contexts, based on case studies from Sudan and Morocco. It argues that such practi....

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

New in Area: 'Civic geographies of care: Mapping the scope and scales of universities' civic action' by @juliandobson.bsky.social This paper explores where 'civic geographies' emerge and how they are enacted, drawing on an environmental initiative in South Yorkshire. doi.org/10.1111/area...

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Julian Dobson (2026) entitled: 'Civic geographies of care: Mapping the scope and scales of universities' civic action' with a black banner at the top.

This article presents empirical evidence from the UK to explore where ‘civic geographies’ emerge and how they are enacted. Responding to Jenkins and Blunt's call in Area for ‘geography as a discipline to revisit its civic scope and ambition’ in the context of universities' civic engagement, it draws on scholarship on care ethics and evidence from recent research with civic universities in England to propose that institutional place-based civic activities are bound up with attitudes and practices of care. By following care practices, it argues, already-existing civic geographies can be identified and utilised to guide institutional and sector-wide approaches, extending beyond traditional knowledge exchange partnerships to ecological and bioregional engagement. A case study of an environmental initiative in South Yorkshire signposts how this can happen, drawing together transdisciplinary networks of academics into an epistemic community shaped by a common care for place.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

New in Area: 'Re-thinking the imposter participant: Online research methods, ethics, AI & trust' by @sophiecranston.bsky.social et al. This paper argues that the potential of imposter participants in online research raises questions around wider structural inequalities. doi.org/10.1111/area...

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Sophie Cranston, Sarah Mills, Rosanna Cant, Ellie Moore, David Maidment & Masa Nooh (2026) entitled: 'Re-thinking the imposter participant: Online research methods, ethics, AI and trust' with a black banner at the top.

Imposter participants are participants who falsely claim to meet inclusion criteria. They are an increasingly recognised issue in the interdisciplinary methods literature, an issue which has been exacerbated by the development of online research methods. This existing work recognises imposter participants as a frustration in the research process and provides important interventions that raise awareness and provide strategies of detection and prevention. However, this paper flips the dominant narrative in academia on fraudulent, imposter or ‘fake’ participants. Drawing on the authors' experience of imposter participants and Generative AI in online methods, this paper provides a series of ethical arguments around incentives, trust and power imbalances. The paper provides a critical lens through which to examine wider questions of trust in online research, making wider contributions to debates on research methods and ethics. Indeed, the paper argues that imposter participants raise urgent questions, not just for the validity and research integrity of individual projects, but for revealing wider structural inequalities and how to potentially navigate this going forward.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Find out more about our Area Prize winner @maddiejoyce.bsky.social's research here ⬇️

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RGS-IBG Higher Ed @rgs-ibghe.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

The recipient of the 2026 Area Prize for the best paper written by an early-career scholar is Madelaine Joyce @maddiejoyce.bsky.social. @rhulgeography.bsky.social

Person in a dark winter coat with fur hood standing on a wooden platform overlooking a vast, barren landscape under a cloudy sky.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

New in Area: 'Blocking Route 52: Mining, landscape and protest in Jujuy Province (Argentina, 2023)' by Diego Ortúzar This paper is part of an ongoing Special Section on roadblocks in extractivist landscapes. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Diego Ortuzar (2026) entitled: 'Blocking Route 52: Mining, Landscape and Protest in Jujuy Province (Argentina, 2023)' with a black banner at the top.

This article examines the roadblocks that emerged in Jujuy Province, Argentina, during the 2023 regional protest against a constitutional reform that facilitated the expansion of lithium mining on public lands. Led by Indigenous communities across the province, many of them directly affected by the reform, the protest revealed a central paradox: it brought together groups with differing relationships to mining, some of which were not necessarily opposed to it. Drawing on historical and ethnographic material, the article analyses these heterogeneous positions by examining how landscapes shaped by distinct historical, economic and labour trajectories relate differently to mining, and how the growing presence of tourism has influenced these dynamics. A second key focus is the role of Route 52, the province's main east–west corridor, which spans 260 km of diverse Andean landscapes and served both as the main site of the protest and a material basis for coordination across these areas. In doing so, the article addresses a gap in the literature by analysing how communities with divergent positions managed to act collectively. It concludes that Route 52 has, since its construction, enhanced interaction across these landscapes, helping to amplify specific local demands while enabling communities to appear publicly as a unified Indigenous bloc. Thus, the analysis suggests that the road was not only the main setting of the mobilisation but also a key agent of articulation, enabling collective action across communities with distinct trajectories.

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RGS-IBG Higher Ed @rgs-ibghe.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Looking for something to read this Friday? Check out our April highlights from across the Society's journals: Finch-Race, D. A., and P. Lewis: ow.ly/K3uo50YRBLM Preci, A.: ow.ly/BA7l50YRBLN Hein, J.: ow.ly/CIQa50YRBLL Migozzi, J., and D. Wójcik: ow.ly/lN6x50YRBLP

Aerial night view of Caesars Superdome illuminated in blue lights during Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

Group of Indigenous people gathered at a roadside blockade in the Argentine Chaco during daylight.

Aerial view of a coastal city with a large circular park and surrounding urban development by the water's edge.

A panoramic cityscape featuring Johannesburg's skyline with the iconic Hillbrow Tower under a partly cloudy sky.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

New in Area: 'Night vision: Navigating walking interviews in the dark' by Georgia MacMillan et al. This paper uses data collected in a dark sky park in Ireland, exploring the use of darkness as a research method & sensory and therapeutic landscape. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

This paper contributes to the discourse on mobile research methodologies by presenting a case for the use of darkness both as a research method and as a sensory and therapeutic landscape in a rural c...

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

New in Area: 'Roadblock geographies: A typology of extraction, circulation, and authority in conflict' by Peer Schouten This paper is part of an ongoing Special Section on roadblocks in extractivist landscapes. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Peer Schouten (2026) entitled: 'Roadblock Geographies: A Typology of Extraction, Circulation, and Authority in Conflict' with a black banner at the top.

Roadblocks and checkpoints have become ubiquitous features of conflict-affected borderlands, yet their political and economic significance remains unevenly theorised. While existing scholarship has documented their role in financing armed actors and shaping everyday mobility, less attention has been paid to how roadblocks relate to the underlying transport geographies within which they operate. This article advances debates on extractivism, circulation and conflict by conceptualising roadblocks as micro-sites of extractive power embedded in broader logistical landscapes. Building on transport geography and literature on the politics of circulation, it argues that variations in transport infrastructure—ranging from informal paths to paved corridors and global logistics hubs—systematically shape who can extract rents from movement, where, and with what distributive effects. The article develops a typology of roadblock geographies based on two dimensions: the number of checkpoint-wielding actors and the types of routes on which they operate. Drawing on comparative evidence from multiple conflict settings, it identifies five ideal-typical configurations: gatekeeper states, intra-route competition, green/grey divisions of power, diffuse authority, and inter-route competition. Rather than mutually exclusive, these configurations are complementary, scalable and often coexist within the same conflict landscape. By foregrounding the interaction between transport infrastructure and extractive practices, the typology offers a heuristic for mapping patterns of authority, rent distribution and political power in conflict-affected borderlands, and contributes to politicising transport geography as a key site of contemporary extractive governance.

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RGS-IBG Higher Ed @rgs-ibghe.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Our Geography for All directory helps underrepresented students find opportunities, from study to careers. Today, we’re highlighting the Cowrie Scholarship Foundation, which offers fully funded undergraduate scholarships for Black British students. Explore these and more 👇 bit.ly/4mNhChJ

ow.ly

Resources for underrepresented students

Opportunities, career paths, programmes and initiatives in support of students from underrepresented backgrounds in geography and related fields.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

If you have any tips or resources for best practice when writing alt text in academic publications, please share them below. We'd love to hear from you as we compile our guidelines for authors.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

New in Area: 'Can you see us now? Negotiating Indigenous citizenship at a road blockade in Argentinean Chaco' by Alberto Preci This paper is part on an ongoing Special Section on roadblocks in extractivist landscapes. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

This paper explores the spatial dimension of Indigenous citizenship by examining how it is experienced, negotiated and enacted during a road blockade in the Argentinean Chaco. Stressing the political....

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Saanchi Saxena @saanchi.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

My first ever journal article has been awarded as a top-cited article of the year! While publication metrics are not the be-all and end-all in my field, it's nice to know that my work has resonated with other scholars. Special thanks to @areajournal.bsky.social for the great publishing experience.

Certificate saying Top cited article Wiley 2025. Congratulations to Saanchi Saxena whose work has been recognized as a top cited article in Area "Gender, caste, and street vending in India: Towards an intersectional geography"

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

New in Area: 'Intimate juxtaposition: Bounded coexistence and the making of multispecies home in Guangzhou' by Duo Yin This paper explore more-than-human cohabitation in urban Guangzhou, drawing on interviews with reptile, amphibian & arthropod keepers. doi.org/10.1111/area...

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

This article develops the concept of ‘intimate juxtaposition’ to theorise how urban residents in Guangzhou, China, cultivate connections with autonomous nature through the deliberate creation of tran...

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Hannah D-C 🦐 @hannahdcknsn.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Maddie is a superstar and this is so richly deserved!

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Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) @rgs.org · 15/04/2026

Every year, the Editors of the RGS-IBG Area journal award the Area Prize for the best paper written by an early-career scholar, in recognition of excellent geographical scholarship. Our congratulations to the 2025 winner, Madelaine Joyce 👏 Find out more and read the full paper ⬇️

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Hannah D-C 🦐 @hannahdcknsn.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Really important intervention from the brilliant @oliviamason.bsky.social

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Jonny Darling @jonnydarling.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Reading for the Area Prize each spring is a really lovely opportunity to engage with all the amazing early career work being produced across the discipline and that @areajournal.bsky.social is proud to publish. Well done to Maddie, Stefano, and Rosie on their excellent papers! @rgs.org

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RGS-IBG Higher Ed @rgs-ibghe.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Good news! Applications for the 2026 Fi Wi Road Internship are still open. An exciting opportunity for Black and mixed-Black heritage geography students, the Fi Wi Road project supports you to build networks, develop your voice, and gain experience. Apply by 20 April 👇 bit.ly/4undzvM

bit.ly

Take Part — FI WI ROAD

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Maddie Joyce @maddiejoyce.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Surprised and delighted to be the recipient of this year’s Area Prize! Incredibly grateful to be recognised and thankful to all the people who made my research and the paper possible! 🏆🤩☺️🌏

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Professor Loretta Lees @lorettaclees.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Congrats to Stefano Pagin who just finished his PhD with me who was Highly Commended in the Area Prize for early career researchers 🤩🎉

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

🏆Area Prize Announcement!🏆 This year's Area Prize for the best paper written by an ECR has been awarded to 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐲𝐜𝐞 for her paper 'Sensing the sky's edge: Atmospheric insights into the Korean demilitarised zone' ⬇️ doi.org/10.1111/area... @maddiejoyce.bsky.social @rhulgeography.bsky.social

Screenshot of the 2025 Area Prize-winner announcement:

Madelaine Joyce (Royal Holloway University of London, UK)
“Sensing the sky’s edge: Atmospheric insights into the Korean demilitarised zone”

With this innovative article, Madelaine Joyce pushes cultural and political geographers to attend closely and creatively to both affective and material atmospheres. Taking the anticipation of an encounter with the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea as both prompt and problematic for rethinking borders across fog, radio signals, and no-go zones, Joyce’s article is a deserving Area Prize winner.

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RGS-IBG Higher Ed @rgs-ibghe.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Welcome to our research and higher education Bluesky! 👋 Follow us to stay up to date with our work in geographical research, including events, funding opportunities, new publications and more. Learn more about how we promote geography in higher education and beyond: ow.ly/CMgN50YI795

Bright orange circular sign on a brick wall reading 'Welcome' with Royal Geographical Society branding partially obscured by green foliage.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

New in Area: 'Weaving through crises: Longitudinal looks at post-COVID life and livelihoods in Eastern Indonesia' by Jessica Clendenning & Elisabeth Dinan This paper is part of an ongoing Special Section: 'Rural-Urban Lifeways Post-Pandemic: Views from Southeast Asia'. doi.org/10.1111/area...

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

Using the market closures and mobility restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, we explore how those living in remote areas managed the longer term social and economic effects of the coronavirus ‘crisi...

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

New in Area: 'Assessment and combatting of crime and violence in urban public spaces in Southeast Algeria' by Hocine Boumaraf & Amara Hima doi.org/10.1111/area...

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Hocine Boumaraf & Amara Hima (2026) entitled: 'Assessment and Combatting of Crime and Violence in Urban Public Spaces in Southeast Algeria' with a black banner at the top.

The primary objective of this article is to examine the relationship between violence and the sense of insecurity in urban public spaces, using the Algerian city of Biskra as a case study. Two contrasting types of public spaces are analysed: Martyrs' Square in the historic downtown and Independence Square in a newer suburban district. The article proposes and further develops the concept of Personal Risk Assessment (PRA), defined as the socially embedded and dynamic process through which individuals interpret environmental cues, social interactions and available support networks in order to evaluate potential threats and mobilise coping strategies. Unlike the narrower notion of perceived risk, PRA emphasises the assemblage of built environments, gendered interactions, collective imaginaries and socio-cultural narratives of danger. Methodologically, the study is grounded in 51 semi-structured interviews and is complemented by field observations, photographic documentation and local statistical data. The findings demonstrate that insecurity is shaped not only by actual incidents of violence but also by social stigma, anticipation, rumour and ambiguity. They further highlight how everyday strategies of avoidance, reliance on commercial infrastructures and gendered experiences reflect broader dynamics of socio-spatial inequality. By situating Biskra within its postcolonial, socio-economic, climatic and geopolitical context, the article contributes both conceptually and empirically to critical debates on urban insecurity in the Global South.

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Emma Atkins @emmaatkins.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

My first journal article has been published! It outlines the novel methods I used to study household food waste. Turns out noone has asked people to put Post-It notes in their fridges before? Weird Thanks to Area for a great publishing experience and the reviewers for their supportive comments!

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

New in Area: 'Tracing waste: Using post-it notes and "fridge maps" to record food waste in household refrigerators' by @emmaatkins.bsky.social This paper presents a novel material method of visually representing food waste inside domestic fridges. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

doi.org

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library

This paper presents a novel, material method of representing food waste inside domestic refrigerators with Post-It notes and ‘fridge maps’ to trace food as it moves out of the fridge to become food w...

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

New in Area: 'Doing geography amidst precarity' by @oliviamason.bsky.social This short piece is part of the ongoing Special Section: 'Dialogues in Radical Geography'. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Olivia Mason (2026) entitled: 'Doing geography amidst precarity' with a black banner at the top.

Neoliberal agendas are increasingly shaping both what it means to do geography but also who can do geography. This is especially true for early career academics. In this intervention I suggest the question of why we do geography is increasingly being buried as we simply survive in the neoliberal academy. What I argue is that the experiences of what it means to enter, get a job in, and then stay in the neoliberal academy are defining mine and others' experiences of being an academic. The number of job interviews undertaken, grants applied for or stories of precarity now dominate discussions rather than our research itself. These challenges in turn alter the ability to do geography research, especially research that involves long-term ethnography and/or else overseas fieldwork. Yet, I also argue that there are ways we can create more caring and careful research environments. Drawing on examples and experiences, this paper will end by exploring the acts of collective care, solidarity and resistance that can speak to the questions of what geography is for and why we do geography.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

New in Area: 'Doing geography amidst precarity' by @oliviamason.bsky.social This short piece is part of the ongoing Special Section: 'Dialogues in Radical Geography'. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

New in Area: 'Road blockades during the pandemic: Indigenous citizenship and new territoriality' by Silvia Romio et al. This paper is part of an ongoing Special Section: 'Roadblocks shaping extractivist landscapes'. doi.org/10.1111/area...

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Silvia Romio, Antonio A. R. Ioris & Emmanuelle Piccoli (2026) entitled: 'Road Blockades During the Pandemic: Indigenous Citizenship and New Territoriality' with a black banner at the top.

In the Peruvian Amazon, the blocking of land and river routes has become an increasingly common strategy among Indigenous groups to exercise active citizenship. Originally a means to express opposition to government decisions—particularly those concerning land tenure, territorial governance and property rights—this form of collective political expression has long shaped Indigenous histories across the Americas throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Road blockades in Peru have a long and complex trajectory; through them, Amazonian communities have redefined their position vis-à-vis the state, shifting from marginalisation and invisibility to recognition as legitimate political actors. Despite their significance, the spatial dimensions of these protests—especially in relation to infrastructure as both the site and object of contention—remain understudied in social science research. In 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Indigenous communities in Peru deployed road blockades for an unprecedented purpose: as a strategy of health self-defence, grounded in political and economic self-organisation. This response echoed long-standing demands and exposed deep-rooted structural inequalities. The adoption of this protest tactic during the pandemic raises two central questions: First, what socio-political and cultural factors shaped this collective action? Second, what consequences did it have within the triangular relationship between emergent spatial practices, modes of collective action and broader political disputes?

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

New in Area: 'The personal is professional: Rethinking the ethics of collaboration and responsibility in Citizen Social Science in Palestine' by Hanna Baumann et al. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Hanna Baumann, Dareen Sayyad, Reema Shebeitah, Nawal Hamad, Manar Younes, Isra Assaf & Chris Harker (2026) entitled: 'The Personal Is Professional: Rethinking the Ethics of Collaboration and Responsibility in Citizen Social Science in Palestine' with a black banner at the top.

This paper examines the personal-professional nexus in community-based research to propose expanded ethical responsibilities for research involving Citizen Science. The article emerges from shared reflections by a UK and Palestine-based team on research conducted by the Palestinian Citizen Social Scientists within their own communities in Ramallah between 2023 and 2024 – a period marked by devastating war and genocide. We foreground the negotiation and care required to adapt and continue research work in an extreme situation of collective mourning and personal risk. Based on our experience, we highlight the need to: (1) allocate space and time to consider positionalities when working in international teams and remotely in times of heightened violence; (2) attend to the risks to the reputation of Citizen Social Scientists, rarely covered by conventional risk protocols even for dangerous/conflict settings; (3) offer psychological support for researchers, whether distress is caused by the research or the wider context. These points are underpinned by the need to rethink the personal–professional distinction in research that builds on local researchers’ lived experience and personal relationships.

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

New in Area: 'Feeding hungry students: Geographies of on-campus free food provision across England' by @emmawainwright.bsky.social et al. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Emma Wainwright, Ellen McHugh & Mamoon Bhuyan (2026) entitled: 'Feeding Hungry Students: Geographies of On-Campus Free Food Provision Across England' with a black banner at the top.

In 2023, one in four UK universities was reported to be operating a food bank for their students amidst a ‘cost-of-learning crisis’. With nearly half of students facing financial difficulty, student food poverty has become a vital issue in contemporary higher education, with food banks marking an important addition to on-campus student support. This paper adds to the growing extant literature on food banks by empirically and conceptually examining the geographies of on-campus free food provision across English universities. We define free food provision for university students as food that is free at the point of collection and consumption and is based on presumed and/or evidenced student need. The paper draws on qualitative and quantitative data from a survey administered to all English universities to map provision across institutions and explore on-campus geographies of free food. It makes two important contributions to existing research. First and empirically, it moves the discussion of food poverty and educational institutions beyond a focus on schools and families with children. Second, and conceptually, it extends understandings of food poverty alleviation beyond food banks to consider a broader set of mechanisms through which support is given to those in need, with universities vitally positioned to tackle food poverty given their role in anchoring students in place. The paper concludes by questioning the longer-term commitment and sustainability of free food provision across universities in England at a time of financial uncertainty.

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Reposted by Area

Dr Anna Lawrence @annamlawrence.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

2023 - one in four UK universities was reported to be operating a food bank for their students. Paper exploring the geographies of food poverty in UK HE out now in Area ⬇️ @rgs.org #OpenAccess

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

New in Area: 'Feeding hungry students: Geographies of on-campus free food provision across England' by @emmawainwright.bsky.social et al. doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

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Area @areajournal.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

New in Area: 'Limits to participations: Neighbourhood-based volunteer initiatives and contradictions of the Dutch participation society' by @sanvanlan.bsky.social et al. doi.org/10.1111/area...

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Sander van Lanen, Jaap G. Nieuwenhuis, Mitchell D. van Dijk (2026) entitled: 'Limits to Participation: Neighbourhood-Based Volunteer Initiatives and Contradictions of the Dutch Participation Society' with a black banner at the top.

The Dutch participation society, like similar programmes elsewhere, aims to shift care responsibilities to households and communities, with the state only acting as a carer or last resort. In this paper, we investigate whether volunteer neighbourhood-based initiatives are capable of delivering various forms of care: general assistance, mobility services and sustainability efforts. Interviews with 54 individuals active in nine initiatives in the north of the Netherlands inquired about the motivations of volunteers to become and remain active, and what influenced potential decisions to stop. The results show that important incentives to start volunteering are social networks, a sense of duty and self-interest and a desire for experience and fulfilment. Volunteers appreciated the sense of fulfilment from social networks and providing support, and the informal nature of volunteer work. Volunteers responded negatively to tendencies of formalisation, the absence of challenges or personal friction with other participants. We argue that there is a central contradiction for care and support delivered by neighbourhood-based initiatives: the levels of formalisation necessary to provide structured high-quality care and support run the risk of alienating volunteers. Either initiatives remain informal to maintain volunteer satisfaction but are unlikely to deliver structured care to people in need, or they professionalise at the risk of dissatisfied volunteers.

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