Dr Peter Wood

Associate Lecturer

peter.wood@open.ac.uk

Biography

Professional biography

BA (Hons), Geography (Cantab)

MSc (Research Training) Environment, Science and Society (University College London)

PhD, Department of Geography, (The Open University), thesis entitled: “Creating City Cyclists; Understanding Why People Start, and Sometimes Stop, Cycling in South London”.

Publications

Updated list via google scholar

Academic interests

My teaching spans social science, environmental science, and environmental management. This crosses Level 1 introduction to social science (DD102, DD105), Level 3 independent study modules (DD308, SDT306), and authoring for Level 2 social research methods (DD215). I have also taught to Students in Secure Environments (e.g. prisons) across the UK. Pedagogical & scholarship publications have focused on inclusive curriculum in distance learning, and also sustainability.

Informal online learning has become a specialism. I have produced courses and materials on topics from Brexit to Environmental Studies, and project managed short courses in Religious Studies, Philosophy and History. The OU/BBC co-production ‘The Brexit Storm: Laura Kuenssberg’s Inside Story’, for which I was an academic consultant, was nominated for ‘Best News/Current Affairs Programme’ at the Broadcast Awards 2020.

For Research, my work focuses on sustainability, local government & devolution, and mobility. I have worked for think tanks, NGOs, and a range of academic projects. This has received widespread print and broadcast media coverage, and with evidence invited or cited by the Scottish Parliament and the Greater London Assembly. I was also a founding trustee of the Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network, securing ~£300k start up funding from the Scottish Government.

I am currently the Branch President for The Open University branch of the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU, 2023+) and the founding Chair of UK-Wide Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee (2022+). Previously I was chair of the UK-wide Anti-Casualisation Committee (2021-22, member 2018-22).