Dr. Katie Meehan

Biography

Katie Meehan is a political ecologist and environmental geographer whose research interests include water governance, social reproduction, environmental justice, and climate change adaptation. She is the co-Director of King’s Water Centre and has co-authored the recent book 'Water: Critical Introduction' published by Wiley-Blackwell in 2023. Previously, Katie served as an editor for the Annals of the American Association of Geographers from 2020 to 2023. Katie joined King’s College London in 2019 after nine years at the University of Oregon, where she held positions as Assistant and Associate Professor. Her PhD from the University of Arizona focused on informal water use and unpaid labor in Tijuana, Mexico, supported by various grants and fellowships. Beyond academia, she has served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize and Guatemala, contributing to local non-profit organizations in watershed management and rural community development. Her research explores social reproduction, feminist political economy, environmental justice, household water insecurity, and the implications of infrastructural inequality. She is the Principal Investigator of the Plumbing Poverty project, which examines inequalities in household water access and service shutoffs in cities of the Global North, funded by the European Research Council. Katie is also investigating the effects of extreme heat on household water insecurity in Europe, collaborating with various universities and expanding her research network.

Research Interests