Dr Danielle Johnson

Personal statement:

I am a qualitative social scientist with a commitment to impactful, inclusive, and participatory enquiry. My research explores the interface between climate change, health, wellbeing, and identity, and I enjoy working in applied, policy-relevant and collaborative environments. Prior to joining Durham University I held research posts in the USA and New Zealand including (most recently) Social Scientist at the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric research (NIWA). At NIWA I was involved in interdisciplinary environmental research supporting New Zealand communities, local authorities, tribal organisations and the private sector to adapt to climate change and enhance hazard resilience.

Key topic areas of research or interest:

Lived experience, justice, and transformation are key anchors in my work which explores:
• The complexities of climate vulnerability, including differential impacts within (as well as between) broad social groups or identities, and how to integrate nuance into social vulnerability assessments
• The implications of climate adaptation for health and wellbeing, including maladaptive policy that entrenches inequities but also adaptation that enhances relational wellbeing by revitalising connections between people, place, nature, heritage and identity
• Indigenous-led climate adaptation vis-à-vis settler colonialism
• The transition to renewable energy amidst climate disruption, including vulnerability to extreme-weather induced power outages, and co-created solutions to address inequitable impacts

Collaboration opportunities:

I am interested in connecting and collaborating with other social scientists/practitioners working in the field of climate change adaptation, extreme weather response, climate-heritage connections, and climate-health-nature relations (e.g. health co-benefits of climate action, conservation or urban greening; monitoring/evaluating adaptation in relation to health and wellbeing).

Publications:

Complete list available at: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/danielle-e-johnson/

‘That still haunts me a little bit’: Decision-makers and information providers’ experiences of recurring flood events https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105216 International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

Resistance, resurgence, and wellbeing: climate change loss and damage from the perspective of Māori women https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486231217891 Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

Measuring Social Vulnerability to Climate Change at the Coast: Embracing Complexity and Context for More Accurate and Equitable Analysis https://doi.org/10.3390/w15193408 Water

Adaptation at whose expense? Explicating the maladaptive potential of water storage and climate-resilient growth for Māori women in northern Aotearoa https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102733 Global Environmental Change

Diversifying Indigenous Vulnerability and Adaptation: An Intersectional Reading of Māori Women’s Experiences of Health, Wellbeing, and Climate Change https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095452 Sustainability