Dr Emma Power
Dr Emma Power
Lecturer, Geography and Urban Studies
- Biography
- Qualifications
- Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise
- Current Grants / Projects
- Selected Publications
Biography
Emma Power is a Lecturer in Geography and Urban Studies at the University of Western Sydney.
Emma is a cultural geographer. Her research examines urban natures, everyday practices of sustainability and homemaking, and human – animal relations. She teaches cultural and social geographies, human-nature relations and urban sustainability and planning as part of the Bachelor of Social Science and Master of Urban Management and Planning.
Her PhD titled ‘A more-than-human geography of homemaking’ examined the ways that people interact with nature and nonhuman animals in the home and garden. It used qualitative methodologies to examine the experiences of people living with dogs in the home, and people cohabiting with uninvited common brushtail possums.
Also see Lecturer Spotlight - Emma Power
Qualifications
Grad Dip Education (2002); B.Social Science (Hons) (2003); PhD (2009) (Macquarie University)
Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise
Cultural geography; everyday practices of sustainability and homemaking; human - environment relations; more-than-human geographies
Current grants/ projects
Community, homemaking and human-animal relations: living with dogs in high rise apartments
Grant: University of Western Sydney Seed Grant (2011)
Dogs are an important companion animal in Australian society, and can be found in over 40% of households. Research in suburban Australia shows that people who have dogs are less lonely and have a strong sense of community, they are also healthier and recover from illness more quickly. Dogs have historically been restricted from living in apartments, however, as medium and high density developments become more common in Australian cities the situation is changing. A number of dog-friendly apartment complexes are opening across Australia’s capital cities. This research will examine the experiences of people living in apartments with dogs and investigate how the design and layout of apartment complexes can impact on the relationships between dogs, their owners, and the other residents.
Also see Central Magazine article (opens in a new window)
Examining innovations in aged care: affordable housing, healthy ageing
Grant: UnitingCare Ageing, NSW (2011)
Renting with Pets
Finding the perfect rental property can be hard at the best of times but what is the experience like with a four legged, feathered or scaly friend in your family?
60% of Australian households include a pet, yet there is strong evidence that only a very limited number of rental properties are pet-friendly. For people renting with pets this can result in immense difficulties securing housing, leading to high levels of pet relinquishment and increased stress.
This project investigates the experiences of people renting with pets in Sydney and those of real estate agents involved in tenancy management. The research will identify the needs and housing experiences of pet owning renters and highlight their experiences renting and searching for appropriate rental accommodation across Sydney. It will also investigate the experiences of real estate agents supplying pet-friendly housing Australia wide.
To read the Daily Telegraph's recent news article titled 'It's a dog's life for renters' visit the news.com.au website (opens in a new window)
To participate in this research pet owners are invited to fill in the Renting with Pets survey. (opens in a new window)
Selected Publications
Book Chapters:
Power, E. R. (in press) Nature in the Home, in Smith, S J International Encyclopaedia of Housing and Home. Elsevier.
Dowling, R. and Power, E. R. (2011) "Beyond McMansions and Green Homes: Thinking household sustainability through materialities of homeyness" in Lane, R. and Gorman-Murray, A. (eds), Material Geographies of Household Sustainability, (opens in a new window) Ashgate.
Journal Articles:
Dowling, R; Gorman-Murray, A; Power, E.R; Luzia, K. (in press) “Critical Reflections on Doctoral Research and Supervision: the ‘PhD by Publication’”, Journal of Geography in Higher Education. (opens in a new window)
Dowling, R. and Power, E. R. (in press) “Sizing Home, Doing Family, in Sydney, Australia”, Housing Studies. (opens in a new window)
Power, E. R. (2009) Domestic Temporalities: nature times in the house-as-home. (opens in a new window) Geoforum 40(6): 1024-1032.
Muller, S., Power, E. R., Suchet-Pearson, S., Wright, S. and Lloyd, K. (2009) "Quarantine Matters!": Quotidian relationships around quarantine in Australia's northern borderlands, (opens in a new window) Environment and Planning A, 41(4), pp. 780-795.
Power, E. R. (2009) Border-processes and home-making: encounters with possums in suburban Australian homes, (opens in a new window) Cultural Geographies, 16(1), pp. 29-54.
Power, E. R. (2008) Furry families: making a human-dog family through home, (opens in a new window) Social and Cultural Geography 9(5), pp. 535-555.
Power, E. R. (2007) Pests and home-making: Depictions of pests in homemaker magazines, (opens in a new window) Home Cultures 4(3), pp. 213-36.
Power, E. R. (2005) Human-Nature Relations in Suburban Gardens, (opens in a new window) Australian Geographer 36(1), pp. 39-53.
Book reviews:
Power, E. R. (2008) Book Review: The Animals Reader: the essential classic and contemporary writings. (opens in a new window) By L.Kalof and A.Fitzgerald. Oxford, Berg, Cultural Geographies 15(4), pp. 519.
Commentary:
Power, Emma (2011) Sky high puppies: dogs and apartment living. Inside Strata. (June 2011, p20)
Article: Power, Emma (2009) ‘The changing face of the Australian garden’ (opens in a new window) The Hort Journal (October 2009, pages 14-16).
