10 Questions with Charlotte Johnson

What is your role and what does it involve?

I’m a Senior Research Associate at the Bartlett School for Environment, Energy and Resources. I work on multidisciplinary research projects investigating urban resource use and I lead the social research parts.

This week I’ve been in the London Metropolitan Archives looking at GLC housing construction, been out to a housing estate to talk to the gardeners about their thoughts on rain water harvesting, presented to central government on gender impacts of smart electricity tariffs, and put grant applications in with colleagues in Sweden. I love how varied my job is. 

What is your experience with community-engaged research?

Shortly after joining UCL I won a public engagement fellowship which I used to look into community energy. It led to a ‘build-your-own alternative energy centre’ project in a community garden in the Olympic park which was really fun.

As a social researcher working in an applied field, community-engaged research is central to all my work. For me it’s really important to work with the people who’ll be able to make use of my research findings. 

What are you most proud of, in work or in life? 

I recently learnt to bake bread which gives a sense of satisfaction every time. 

What saying do you try to live by?

Fortune favours the brave.   

If you could meet any person, at any point in history, who would you choose and why?

Dorothy Parker sounds fun. Or maybe Marty McFly if he’d just been to 2050 and could let me know we hadn’t destroyed everything. 

Which album, film, TV boxed set and book would you take on a desert island?

Album: Can I have the whole of the ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ series? They’re great at transporting you back to earlier lives. 

Film: Man with a Movie Camera, to remind me of city living. I could come up with a new narrative every time I watched it

TV Boxed set: Black Books. No explanation needed. 

Book: Tricky. Do I take something I’ve always wanted to find the time to read, like Anna Karenina or Crime and Punishment maybe? Or something well-loved that I can read again and again? 

What do you think is the most important quality in a friend and/or colleague?

Empathy.

What do you like best about where you live?

Springfield Park. It’s on a hill dipping down to the Lee River so gives amazing views over the marshes. It’s a lovely patch of green in Hackney that’s off the beaten track.  

If you could be Mayor of London for a day, what would you do?  

I’d secretly make all of London meat-free for day. I bet no-one would notice, but the city would contribute less emissions. Car-free would also be great, but less easy to do by stealth. 

What opportunities for community-engaged research are coming up for you or your organisation? 

I’ve just started working on a 5 year multi-disciplinary project which puts community- engagement at its heart. The project is called ‘Community Water Management for a Liveable London’ or CAMELLIA.

It is addressing London’s major water issues, from flooding to water shortage. It takes a case-study approach and in each setting we will focus on local engagement opportunities. First up, finding sustainable urban drainage solutions in the inner-city. We’ll be co-designing a community garden with residents in Kipling Estate, Southwark. The Tenants’ and Residents’ Association will run the first workshop this month!

I'm also shortly going to Brussels to present a paper on a project I've been working on with the Engineering Exchange in collaboration with the Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum, looking at air quality and community-led neighbourhood planning (read more).