Rachel Jones

Growing up in Newport, South Wales, Jones developed an interest in global issues at a young age. This led her into a Geography undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Following this, Jones conducted her Master's degree at the University of Helsinki, Finland, specialising in Urban Planning. Jones's research interests include urbanism, violence against women, transport, queer studies and smart cities.

Research 

Thesis title: The Role of Public Spaces in Discussing Violence Against Women: A Comparative Study of London and Singapore

This topic looks at how public spaces can change social norms and bring about change, looking at advertisements put in place by activists, and messages, (such as stickers), put into the urban environment by passers-by. Through examining street feminist media in London and Singapore, and gauging the local community’s opinions, a picture of street media’s usefulness in addressing gender-based violence issues will be determined. These messages, and ‘battles’ over women’s rights in public spaces occur across the world and are fast-changing. Despite this, the effect of street media campaigns on public opinion and how women experience space is little studied. The similarities and differences between each case will allow an insight into the most useful tactics for future campaigns. London and Singapore are comparable for a number of reasons. Both are large cities with rich cultural diversity. The cases also contrast each other. Singapore is known for press and speech suppression. This presents a situation where a lot of political and social campaigns are underground. This provides an exciting opportunity for comparison – politically ‘open’ London vs. politically ‘closed’ Singapore. 

PhD Supervision

Principal supervisor: Phil Hubbard

Further details

See Rachel's research profile