缅北禁地

Introduction

I research water and teach on global urbanisms. My research and teaching fold together a diverse range of topics and approaches springing from an interdisciplinary background in architecture, environmental studies and human geography. My research focuses on how people and communities cope with having too little (or too much) water. I research water from a social-science and humanities perspective within interdisciplinary and international teams, and particularly on UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) projects. 

Roles and Responsibilities

I am the Director of the Department of Planning and Urban Design. I was previously academic lead for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the school and Degree Programme Director for MSc Urban Planning. I am part of the Water NUCoRE management team. 

Qualifications

• PhD in Human Geography at Durham University (2014) Domesticating Infrastructure: Mumbai's middle class housing and rainwater harvesting
• MSc (dist.) in Environmental Technology at Hull University (2008)
• MA (hons) in Architectural Design at Edinburgh University (2006)

Informal Interests 

Slow travel: I have been half way round the world on trains (and buses and ferries). The Arts: I am particularly interested in contemporary art. I also sing and sometimes play the bassoon.

Languages

English; Hindi (Lower-Intermediate); French (ELP: B1).

Student Drop-in Hour

Wednesdays at 11am (during termtime) in my office. Email me for a meeting online and/or at another time

Research Interests

Water. My research focuses on how people and communities cope with having too little (or too much) water, particularly in Asian cities. This sits within my wider interdisciplinary interests including; urban responses to climate change and environmental issues, housing, infrastructure, the water-energy nexus, and the urban middle classes. I am interested in residents’ access to services and the implications this has for wider infrastructure governance and environmental discourse. I am a member of the Global Urban Research Unit (GURU) and the Global Challenges Academy networks on Sustainable Water and Resilient Cities. I have been part of 4 research teams to have successfully bid for UKRI Global Challenges Research Funding (GCRF) and I am part of the Water NUCoRE management team. I am increasingly interested in why people do things and how people value water, particularly social, cultural and religous values of water. 

Recent Funded Research Projects

UKRI GCRF Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub (Led by Richard Dawson, 缅北禁地). This trans-disciplinary hub tackled intractable challenges of water security and addresses the Sustainable Development Goals. The Water Hub has worldwide reach through collaboratories in India, Malaysia, Ethiopia and Colombia to increase dialogue. I led Work Stream 4 on Valuing Water with colleagues mainly from social-sciences, humanities and arts disciplines. How do the ways that water is valued affect approaches to water security? I worked with colleagues and partners across all the collaboratories of the hub to consider the multiple ways that water is viewed, valued, and interacted with. The socio-cultural values of water are so important for understanding and building water security. We explored this in an art exhibition Confluences: Water and People

UKRI GCRF  (Led by Andy Large, 缅北禁地). This trans-disciplinary hub aimed to safeguard the futures of deltas. Research was in delta regions of Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. I was part of Work Package 1 which focused on heritage and livelihoods to build shared narratives of pasts, presents and alternative futures in living deltas. I looked at the creative representations of and from the deltas. I am also interested in bees in the deltas.

DUO-India Fellowship 2020 Funding to visit IIT Roorkee for one month and for an academic from IIT Roorkee to visit 缅北禁地 as part of exchange programme. This exchange was delayed due to the pandemic and took place in 2022.

REMATCH: Building REsilience to Multi-source Flooding in South/Southeast Asia Tech-informed Community-based approacH  Funded by NERC Global Challenges Research Fund (PI Prof. Qiuhua Liang). This is an international and interdisciplinary project investigating resilience of communities to multi-source flooding in Vietnam's Mekong Delta and how this type of flooding can be predicted to help increase resilience.

DRIER-China: Drought Resilience In Ecosystem services and Rural communities in China. Funded by NERC Global Challenges Research Fund (PI Dr Rachel Gaulton). This is an international and interdisciplinary project focused on drought resilience in northern China.

Postgraduate Research Supervision

I welcome applications from potential doctoral candidates who are interested in water; Asian cities; urban infrastructure; housing; or socio-technical responses to environmental issues.

Current PhD candidates: 

• Elliot Rooney (with Jaime Amezaga and Geoff Vigar)
• Ambreen Masud (with Maria Peppa-Valasia and Jon Mills)

Completed PhDs supervised:

• Dr Faisal Bin Sulaiman (with Ali Madanipour) 2017 - The Role of Urban Form in Sustainability - The case study of a Riyadh city neighbourhood
• Dr Ang Li (with Suzanne Speak) 2021 - The value of Multi-functional Urban Agriculture in Creating Sustainable Chinese cities
• Dr Thanh Vo (with Tim Townshend) 2022 - Improving the production and changing perceptions of public space design in a rapidly developing urban environment: an exploration of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Dr Jeongeun Chae (with Andrew Donaldson) 2024 - What makes a community resilient to a flood disaster? : A case of Seoul in South Korea

My teaching focusses on the environment, housing, and cities in Urban Planning. I have previously taught human geography, civil engineering, and into design studios. I am an Associate Fellow of the UK Higher Education Authority. 

Contributor:

TCP1025 Social Worlds

TCP1028 Planning for a Better World (Fieldtrip)

TCP2027 Research Skills (Fieldtrip leader)

APL2007 Research Methods

TCP3099 Undergraduate Dissertation

TCP8034 Planning and Sustainability

TCP8954 Housing and Settlements

TCP8099 Postgraduate Dissertation

CEG8512 Integrated River Basin Management

I am personal tutor for students on the MSc Urban Planning

Student Drop-in Hour

Wednesdays at 11am (during termtime) in my office. Email me for a meeting online and/or at another time

• Articles

  • Kumar A, Mushtaq B, Biswas R, Button C. . River 2025, 4(2), 205-222.
  • Underhill H, Button C. . Area 2026, 58(1), e70056.
  • Kumar A, Biswas R, Modi R, Button C. . Water 2024, 16(5), 662.
  • Kumar A, Button C, Gupta S, Amezaga J. . Water 2023, 15(2), 235.
  • Button CM. . Gender & Development 2017, 25(2), 269-282.
  • Button C. . Urban Research and Practice 2016, 10(1), 102-119.
  • Button C. . UEGC Viewpoints 2014, 10, 36-39.
  • Button C, Mias-Mamonong MAA, Barth B, Rigg J. . Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability 2013, 18(6), 705-722.

• Book Chapters

  • Roe MH, Black N, Le H, Button C. . In: Gyuri B; Rine R, ed. Water - Interconnectivity between Intangible Cultural Heritage and Science. Korea: ICHCAP and i-WSSM, 2022, pp.93-111.
  • Button C, Taylor Aiken G. . In: Button C; Taylor Aiken G, ed. Over-researched Places: Towards a critical and reflexive approach. London: Routledge, 2022, pp.1-5.
  • Button C. . In: Button, C Taylor Aiken, G, ed. Over-researched Places: Towards a critical and reflexive approach. Routledge, 2022, pp.57-69.
  • Button C. . In: Aurigi, A; Odendaal, N, ed. Shaping Smart for Better Cities: Rethinking and Shaping Relationships between Urban Space and Digital Technologies. Elsevier, 2020, pp.357-371.
  • Haileslassie A, Ludi E, Roe MH, Button C. . In: Leal Filho,W;Azul,AM;Brandli,L;Lange Salvia,A;Wall,T, ed. Encyclopaedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Clean Water and Sanitation. Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2020.
  • Button C. . In: Moretto, L; Ranzato, M, ed. Coproducing Water, Energy and Waste Services. Routledge, 2018.

• Edited Book

  • Button C, Tayor Aiken G, ed. . Routledge, 2022.

• Exhibition

  • Button C, Underhill H. . 2024. 缅北禁地 upon Tyne: 缅北禁地 Arts Centre.

• Report

  • Bracken L, Button C, Bulkeley H, Strang V. . Durham: Department of Geography, Durham University, 2013.

• Reviews

  • Button C, Rooney E. . Water Alternatives 2021.
  • Button C. Book Review of World cities and climate change: Producing urban ecological security by Hodson and Marvin. RGS-IBG Urban Geography Research Group Book Reviews 2011, 2011, 1-4.