Dr Peter Forman

Assistant Professor

Department: Geography and Environmental Sciences

I am a political geographer whose work brings together research on energy, materialities, urban governance, and infrastructures to conceptualise the political significance of circulations and circulatory infrastructures for the organisation of everyday life. I am especially interested in the opportunities and challenges for governance that gaseous materials present in the 21st century. More information on these themes can be found below.

In May 2020, I joined Northumbria University’s Department of Geography and Environmental Science as a Lecturer in Human Geography. Prior to this, I held research and teaching fellow positions in the sociology department at Lancaster University, the business school at the University of York, and in the institute for political science at the University of Tübingen (Germany). I completed my PhD in Human Geography at Durham University in 2017.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Securing Circulation

A key theme in my research is exploring how different kinds of global/local flows variously relate to questions of security, risk, and resilience. I am particularly concerned with the processes and technologies through which circulations become rendered known, politicisable, and governable.

Energy and Infrastructural Politics

I am especially concerned with how flows of energy are facilitated and governed according to different understandings of risk, and the roles in which socio-technical infrastructures play in this. My work traces the consequences of these governance practices for the organisation of societies. To date, my work has predominantly focused upon natural gas networks in the UK, and on evolving proposals to develop infrastructures for the production, transport, and consumption of hydrogen.

Atmospheres and Gaseous Governance

Gases and other atmospheric bodies present unique challenges for contemporary governance and are responsible for some of today's most urgent political issues. Successfully governing them has become a 21st century imperative, requiring interventions at scales ranging from the domestic to the urban, regional, and planetary. Tracing these challenges and identifying opportunities for intervention is further explored through my work.

Matter, Materialities, and Life in the Anthropocene

My research investigates alternative ways of living with nonhumans in the Anthropocene, examining the ethics of more-than-human relations in the context of unfolding ecological crises.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Materialist Dialogues and the Granular, Forman, P. 1 Jul 2021, In: Dialogues in Human Geography
Histories of Balancing Demand and Supply in the UK’s Gas Networks, 1795 – Present, Forman, P. 18 Dec 2020, In: Journal of Energy History
Conceptualising flexibility: Challenging representations of time and society in the energy sector*, Blue, S., Shove, E., Forman, P. 1 Nov 2020, In: Time and Society
Brexit: Modes of uncertainty and futures in an impasse, Anderson, B., Wilson, H., Forman, P., Heslop, J., Ormerod, E., Maestri, G. 1 Jun 2020, In: Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers
Materiality; New Materialism, Forman, P. 2020, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Elsevier
Security and the Subsurface: Natural Gas and the Visualisation of Possibility Spaces, Forman, P. 1 Jan 2020, In: Geopolitics
Inorganic Becomings: Situating the Anthropocene in Puchuncavi, Tironi, M., Hird, M., Simonetti, ., Forman, P., Freiburger, N. 1 May 2018, In: Environmental Humanities
Circulations beyond Nodes: (In)Securities Along the Pipeline, Forman, P. 4 Mar 2018, In: Mobilities
A Material Politics of Citizenship: The potential of circulating materials from UK Immigration Removal Centres, Hughes, S., Forman, P. 18 Aug 2017, In: Citizenship Studies

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation: Hydrogen Risk Landscapes - Reflections on Sharing Work-in-Progress 2023
Invited talk: Invited Panelist - British Academy - "Sustainability in Research and Innovation" 2023
Invited talk: Invited Discussant - Chair's Plenary, "Critical Geographies of Climate Knowledges" 2023
Editorial work: Geo: Geography and Environment (Journal) 2023
Oral presentation: Hydrogen Risk Societies 2023
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Health x Energy 2023 - Webinar Series 2023
Invited talk: Hydrogen Risk Landscapes 2022
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Energy Geographies Research Group - Webinar Series 2021/22 2021
Editorial work: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (Journal) 2021
Membership of committee: Energy Geographies Research Group (EnGRG) (External organisation) 2020

PGR Supervision

Ebenezer Amoah CONTESTATION(S) IN VALUING E-WASTE: AN ACTOR-NETWORK PERSPECTIVE IN ACCRA, GHANA Start Date: 01/10/2022

Further Information

Publications

2023

Forman, P.J., Shove, E., Lord, C., & Blue, S. (2023) "Beyond Fuel Switching and Substitution: A History of Fuel Supply on the Isle of Man" [Blog Post] Energy Flexibility Gallery, Centre for Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) Beyond Fuel Switching and Substitution: A History of Fuel Supply on the Isle of Man – Energy Flexibility Gallery (lancs.ac.uk)

2021

Gregson, N. & Forman, P.J. (2021) "England's Municipal Waste Regime: Challenges and Prospects" The Geographical Journal https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12386

Blue, S., Forman, P., & Shove, E. (2021) "Flexibilities in Energy Supply and Demand: Legacies and Lessons from the Past" Journal of Energy History 5(1) pp.1-8.

Forman, P.J. (2021) "Materialist Dialogues and the Granular" Dialogues in Human Geography https://doi.org/10.1177/20438206211004859

Forman, P.J. & Gregson, N. (2021) "UK Waste Management Contracts by Local Authority, 2018-2019" [Dataset] UK Data Service doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-854682

Hughes, S.H., & Forman, P.J. (2021) "A Material Politics of Citizenship: The Potential of Circulating Materials from UK Immigration Removal Centres" In: Amelung, N., Gianolla, C., Sousa Ribeiro, J., & Solovova, O. (Eds) "Material Politics of Citizenship: Connecting Migrations with Science and Technology Studies" London: Routledge.

2020

Forman, P.J. (2020) "Histories of Balancing Demand and Supply in the UK's Gas Networks, 1795-Present" Journal of Energy History URL: Histories of Balancing Demand and Supply in the UK’s Gas Networks, 1795 – Present | Drupal (energyhistory.eu)

Blue, S. Shove, E. & Forman, P.J. (2020) "Conceptualising Flexibility: Challenging representations of time and society in the energy sector" Time and Society DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X20905479

Anderson, B. Wilson, H. Forman, P.J. Heslop, J. Ormerod, E. & Maestri, G. (2020) “Brexit: Modes of Uncertainty and Futures at an Impasse” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12348

2019

Forman, P.J. (2019) “Security and the Subsurface: Natural Gas and the Visualisation of Possibility Spaces” Geopolitics DOI: 10.1080/14650045.2018.1513918

Forman, P.J. (2019) “Materiality, New Materialisms” In: Kobayashi, A. (Ed) The International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (Second Edition) https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102295-5.10330-0

Forman, P.J. & Shove, E. (2019) “The Fixity of Flexibility” [Guest blog post for CREDS website] Available at: https://www.creds.ac.uk/the-fixity-of-flexibility/ [Last accessed: 08/01/20]

2018

Forman, P.J. (2018) “Circulations beyond Nodes: (In)Securities Along the Pipeline” Mobilities http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17450101.2017.1403776

Tironi, M., Hird, M., Forman, P.J., Simonetti, C., & Freiburger, N. (2018) “Inorganic becomings: Situating the Anthropocene in Puchuncaví” Environmental Humanities doi.org/10.1215/22011919-4385525

Forman, P.J. (2018) Book review: Global Undergrounds: Exploring Cities Within. Edited by Paul Dobraszczyk, Carlos Lopez Galviz, & Bradley Garrett [Reviewed for the Urban Geographies Research Group]

2017

Hughes, S.M. & Forman, P.J. (2017) “A Material Politics of Citizenship: The Governance of Circulating Materials from UK Immigration Removal Centres” Citizenship Studies http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13621025.2017.1341659

Forman, P.J. (2017) “Hard to Follow Things: Natural Gas” [Online] Guest blog post for http://www.followtheblog.org. Available at: <https://followtheblog.org/2017/08/21/guest-post-hard-to-follow-things-natural-gas-by-peter-forman/> [Last accessed: 22/08/17]