This project will analyse how public attitudes and community responses to shale gas unfold in space and time. To date, research has mainly focused on public attitudes to shale gas at one point in time (e.g. BEIS Public Attitude Tracker), with little detail on how the attitudes of individual people might change over time or vary across specific countries or regions of the UK. Moreover, little in-depth research has focused on the lived experience of UK communities in places of shale gas development or the operator engagement that has taken place there.

 To address these gaps, this project will implement a mixed-method approach combining spatial, qualitative and quantitative tools. We take a multi-level approach with a particular interest in the evolution of public attitudes at the societal level, and the relations between stakeholder and community engagement around particular shale gas development projects at the local level. We will implement a longitudinal survey at the national level in 3 waves over the next 2 years, using the same participants each time. We will carry out two in-depth local case studies, using qualitative ethnographic methods and local surveys, with each case diverse in set criteria (e.g. stage of project development, geographic region, characteristics of the local community). We will analyse social media Twitter data on shale gas, both generally and in relation to our local case studies.

Arising from a synthesis of these datasets, this project will develop new understandings of public attitudes and community responses to shale gas informed by theory from human geography and social psychology. Drawing on core concepts of geographical differentiation (e.g. differences in public attitudes between UK regions), spatial proximity (distance to development) and place attachment (emotional bonds between person and place), we will develop and apply a novel methodological basis for analysing socio-economic aspects of shale gas that will be of interest to a global audience.

University of Exeter - ASSIST – Attitudes to Shale Gas in Space and Time

The Team