Postdoc Perceived rural accessibility and the influence of spatial scale

Job description

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences is looking to appoint a postdoctoral researcher on the topic of perceived rural accessibility. Previous research within the Transport Geography research group shows that local accessibility to daily activities in rural areas is experienced rather positively. However, residents with a car are more positive than those without. We would now like to investigate to what extent perceptions of accessibility and the perceived importance of accessibility depend on the spatial scale considered. This plays out against the background of discussions about the accessibility of services and the liveability of the countryside, where some facilities have a local function, while others have a more regional or supra-regional character. In addition, it touches on discussions about potential and interregional large scale transport infrastructure projects, such as the Lelylijn and the Nedersaksenlijn, which also aim to improve the interregional accessibility of rural areas. Moreover, we aim to include a cross-border component, such as how activities/facilities across the border in peripheral areas influence perceived accessibility of residents. This research involves the following components

1. How is accessibility by various transport modes perceived across spatial scales (local, regional, national)?

2. How important do residents of rural areas consider accessibility at different spatial scale levels and the accessibility per type of transport mode?

After an extensive literature study, you will conduct an empirical study into the perception of accessibility in rural areas with an explicit distinction between different spatial scale levels and the influence of the mode of transport. The starting point is to first investigate the (im)possibilities with existing datasets.

The position involves a limited teaching component in the form of support to our master course in Transport Geography as well as limited ad-hoc student supervision. Finally, we will explore the possibility to involve the postdoctoral researcher in the supervision of PhD candidates and we encourage pursuing publishing and attracting research funding beyond the involvement in this particular project. In short, we try to accommodate the development of your own line of research.

Organisation

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences (FSS) focuses on high quality teaching and research in the fields of spatial planning, economic and cultural geography and demography. FSS is also well-embedded in a wider range of disciplines, such as social, political and technology sciences. Our vision is to spatially transform society to support wellbeing and innovation. Our mission as a faculty is to undertake and disseminate, via research and teaching, rigorous and distinctive research which helps to realize this vision. FSS employs around 100 academic staff members, over 100 PhD candidates, and serves about 1,100 students. We are a cohesive Faculty committed to internationally-oriented, interdisciplinary research of high societal relevance with our new research programme Transformations, Communities, and Environments (TRACE), which encompasses socio-spatial transformations; wellbeing, equity, and resilience for people and places; and socio-spatial differences and sustainable development.

The Department of Economic Geography, in which the position will be based, is one of the four departments in the faculty and it offers an open and friendly academic environment with an international staff. The department has about 20 members of staff and 25 PhD researchers. The University of Groningen has a very strong reputation as one of the main centres in regional science globally. In terms of teaching, the department of Economic Geography contributes to the bachelor Human Geography and Planning and it is responsible for the Master’s programme in Economic Geography, which includes the track 'Regional Competitiveness and Trade', and the master of Real Estate Studies. Our research focusses on issues related to regional labour markets, migration, transport geography, entrepreneurship, geographies of well-being, happiness and discontent, the green and digital transition, socio-spatial inequalities and real estate applying quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods.

Qualifications

Our ideal candidate should have

• A PhD degree (or nearly finished) in the field of transport or economic geography, human geography, transport economics, civil/transport engineering, applied economics, sociology or in another social science showing a clear affinity to transport/accessibility research and proven experience with quantitative research methods.
• Publications in international peer-reviewed academic journals that testify of your interest and contribution to transport studies.
• A network of relevant academic connections related to the topic/field.
• The skills to present academic analyses to varied audiences including scientific professionals and policy makers. Also, you are comfortable building and maintaining a professional network to regional and national policy makers that are affiliated or relevant to the research that you are performing.
• A fluency in English (reading, writing, speaking) and a good command of Dutch, necessary to be able to communicate with policy makers.

Organisation

Conditions of employment

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• A salary depending on qualifications and work experience (after obtaining PhD) starting from a minimum of € 3,897 to a maximum of € 5,331 (salary scale 10) for a full-time position.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus and participation in a pension scheme for employees.
• Attractive secondary terms of employment.
• An appointment for a period of 1 year with the prospect of an extension, for another year. The appointment will be for either 0.8 or 1.0 FTE. This can be discussed.

We aim for a start date of 1 September 2025