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Assistant Professor
Landscape Architecture, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development
University of Guelph
Kearney Coupland is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture whose research and teaching explore the social, psychological, and spatial dimensions of climate change. With a background in both design and human geography, her work focuses on climate migration, managed retreat, and planned community relocation, particularly in the Arctic, Caribbean, and rural contexts.
Her current research examines the ethics and challenges of relocation in response to sea-level rise, and how participatory design, storytelling, and community-to-community knowledge sharing can support more just and effective adaptation. Kearney is especially interested in how research can empower communities without overwhelming local capacity, and how mobility functions both as a form of adaptation and a site of vulnerability.
She teaches courses in research methods, environmental psychology, and design, emphasizing interdisciplinary thinking, relational ethics, and community-engaged practice. Kearney’s work is grounded in ongoing collaboration with Indigenous and remote communities and a commitment to decolonizing research and planning processes.
Select Publications
- Coupland, K. (2023). "Designing decentralized disaster response: Perspectives from post-Hurricane Dorian recovery in The Bahamas." In S. van Manen et al. (Eds)., Design for Emergency Management. New York: Routledge.
- Coupland, K. (2022). Adaptive capacity and mobility in the Bahamas: Examining the social costs of displacement in response to Hurricane Dorian. Dissertation, Wilfred Laurier University.
- Coupland, K. (2020). Disaster displacement: Examining the post-Dorian experience on Eleuthera. IMRC Policy Points, Issue XVIII.
- Akesson, B., & Coupland, K. (2018). Seeking safety, finding fear: Syrian families’ experiences of (im)mobility and the implications for children and family rights. Canadian Journal of Children's Rights 5(1).
- Akesson, B., & Coupland, K. (2018). Without choice?: Understanding war-affected Syrian families' decisions to leave home. Migration Research Series, International Organization for Migration.