![Joe Williams BA, MSc, PhD](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1899?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Joe Williams
(he/him)
BA, MSc, PhD
Lecturer in Human Geography
School of Geography and Planning
- WilliamsJ168@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 79646
- Glamorgan Building, Room 1.59, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Human Geographer, based in the School of Geography and Planning. My research aims to understand the changing relationships between environment and society. My main areas of interest are in:
- Urban political ecology
- The politics of water and energy infrastructure
- Global development and environment
I am currently funded through a five-year ERC-assessed/UKRI-funded Starting Grant, titled 'Global development and the contradictions of new water (GloNeW)'.
Publication
2024
- O'Neill, B. F. and Williams, J. 2024. Developments in desalination need a social sciences perspective. Nature Water 1, pp. 994-995. (10.1038/s44221-023-00161-x)
- Williams, J. 2024. Greenwashing: Appearance, illusion and the future of ‘green’ capitalism. Geography Compass 18(1), article number: e12736. (10.1111/gec3.12736)
- Robinson, C. and Williams, J. 2024. Ambient vulnerability. Global Environmental Change 84 (10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102801)
2023
- Zhang, Z., Hu, Z. and Williams, J. 2023. International rivers as national borders: The functional complexity of border river governance with a case study of the Khorgos River. Eurasian Geography and Economics (10.1080/15387216.2023.2300070)
- Williams, J., Beveridge, R. and Mayaux, P. 2023. Unconventional waters: A critical understanding of desalination and wastewater reuse. Water Alternatives 16(2), pp. 429-443.
2022
- Williams, J. 2022. Desalination in the 21st Century : a critical review of trends and debates at the water desalination frontier. Water Alternatives 15(2), pp. 193-217.
- Williams, J. and Love, W. 2022. Low carbon research and teaching in geography: pathways and perspectives. Professional Geographer 74(1), pp. 41-51. (10.1080/00330124.2021.1977156)
2021
- Williams, J. 2021. "Money is not the problem": the slow financialization of Kenya's water sector. Antipode 53(6), pp. 1873-1894. (10.1111/anti.12755)
Articles
- O'Neill, B. F. and Williams, J. 2024. Developments in desalination need a social sciences perspective. Nature Water 1, pp. 994-995. (10.1038/s44221-023-00161-x)
- Williams, J. 2024. Greenwashing: Appearance, illusion and the future of ‘green’ capitalism. Geography Compass 18(1), article number: e12736. (10.1111/gec3.12736)
- Robinson, C. and Williams, J. 2024. Ambient vulnerability. Global Environmental Change 84 (10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102801)
- Zhang, Z., Hu, Z. and Williams, J. 2023. International rivers as national borders: The functional complexity of border river governance with a case study of the Khorgos River. Eurasian Geography and Economics (10.1080/15387216.2023.2300070)
- Williams, J., Beveridge, R. and Mayaux, P. 2023. Unconventional waters: A critical understanding of desalination and wastewater reuse. Water Alternatives 16(2), pp. 429-443.
- Williams, J. 2022. Desalination in the 21st Century : a critical review of trends and debates at the water desalination frontier. Water Alternatives 15(2), pp. 193-217.
- Williams, J. and Love, W. 2022. Low carbon research and teaching in geography: pathways and perspectives. Professional Geographer 74(1), pp. 41-51. (10.1080/00330124.2021.1977156)
- Williams, J. 2021. "Money is not the problem": the slow financialization of Kenya's water sector. Antipode 53(6), pp. 1873-1894. (10.1111/anti.12755)
Research
I work in the fields of human geography, political ecology and global development. My research focuses on the politics of water and energy infrastructure as a lens for critically understanding social and ecological challenges, such as water stress and climate change.
I have a long-standing research interest in the proliferation of 'new' or 'unconventional water resources, particularly seawater and brackish water desalination, as a response to water challenges in diverse contexts around the world. Although not well understood, desalination now supplies water for about half a billion people globally and has quietly become one of the most important urban metabolic transformations in the 21st Century, offering important insights on how societies are responding to issues like water security.
My research has been published in a wide range of international academic journals, as well as books and online collections.
Biography
Qualifications
- PhD Human Geography, University of Manchester, 2017.
- MSc Environment and Development, University of Edinburgh, 2012.
- BA Geography, University of Manchester, 2011.
Career
- Lecturer in Human Geography, Cardiff University, 2021–present.
- Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Bristol, 2020–2021.
- Assistant Professor in Human Geography, Durham University, 2017–2020.
- Teaching Fellow in Geography, Durham University, 2016–2017.
Membership
- Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
- Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.
Academic Appointments
- External Examiner at Glasgow Caledonian University, 2019–2023.
- External Examiner at University of Gloucestershire, 2020–2024.
