Nick Hacking

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT NICK HACKING

My research examines how governance, expertise and public participation shape sustainability transitions in energy, waste and resource systems. My early research examined how environmental infrastructure projects are negotiated within planning systems.This work focused particularly on energy-from-waste and other controversial infrastructure, analysing how planning processes mediate conflicts between developers, regulators, experts and local communities. Planning systems are not neutral technical processes, but political arenas in which environmental knowledge, public participation and competing sustainability claims are negotiated. I have established a foundation in: urban and environmental planning governance of infrastructure systems environmental conflict and public participation.My work then expanded into the broader field of sustainability transitions, examining how societies shift towards more sustainable systems of energy, waste and resource management.I developed a focus on the circular economy, analysing how governance systems, regulatory frameworks and supply chains shape attempts to move towards more circular resource systems. Circular economy transitions are not simply technical innovations but complex governance challenges involving standards, markets, policy frameworks and international trade in materials.I positioned my work within debates on: sustainability transitions environmental governance global resource flows and circular economy policy.My most recent research expands the governance perspective by examining how citizens participate in environmental monitoring and knowledge production. I explore how communities use citizen science, environmental sensing technologies and participatory research methods to generate evidence about environmental conditions such as air quality. This research investigates how citizen-generated data interacts with planning systems, regulatory institutions and scientific expertise, raising questions about environmental justice, democratic participation and the role of community knowledge in sustainability transitions. I have connected sustainability governance with: citizen science community data participatory environmental governance.My research shows a clear intellectual progression: Planning conflicts → Governance of sustainability transitions → Citizen participation in environmental knowledge systems.My central concern remains consistent: How governance systems shape the transition towards more sustainable and socially just environmental infrastructures.