Associate Professor
Postgraduate Course Director
Email angela.curl@otago.ac.nz
Department of Public Health
University of Otago, Christchurch
PO Box 4345
Christchurch 8140
Background
Angela is a social scientist interested in the relationships between urban environments, transport and health. She is particularly interested in how public policies, particularly in transport, urban planning and housing, can address health inequalities and transport disadvantage.
Angela undertakes research exploring perceptions and experiences of accessibility and how these interact with the built environment to influence outcomes, such as travel behaviour, transport disadvantage, physical activity, health and wellbeing, for different population groups. Her research focuses particularly the experiences of older adults and lower income groups.
Angela uses both quantitative and qualitative social research methodologies and is particularly interested in novel methodological approaches, including those that utilise GIS.
Her current research projects include:
- ACTIVATION - Activating Change through InterVentions for Active Travel in our Neighbourhoods
- Older adults' experiences of the pedestrian environment, particularly in relation to falling and fear of falling
- On-demand access to unhealthy commodities
She previously lectured in Health Geography at the University of Canterbury and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow and at the OPENspace research centre at the University of Edinburgh. She completed her PhD in Geography at the Centre for Transport Research at the University of Aberdeen. Prior to this she worked as a transport planner.
Teaching
Angela teaches papers in the Diploma of Public Health.
She is interested in supervising PhD and masters' theses in a range of areas, such as:
- Urban environments, urban planning and health
- Built environment (including accessibility) and health
- Social inclusion and transport deprivation
- Perceptions and experiences of mobility and accessibility
- Sustainable and active travel
- Age-friendly cities
- Health and social impacts of new transport technologies
Professional activities / memberships
- Editorial board of Journal of Transport and Health (special issues editor)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
- Member of Transportation Group (EngineeringNZ)
- Member of Public Health Association
- Member of New Zealand Geographical Society
Student supervision
Current supervision
Student: Williams, N.
Degree: PhD (in progress)
Topic: How can gender sensitive transport planning and design improve social equity and community health outcomes?
Student: de La Roche, D
Degree: PhD (in progress)
Topic: Transport as a Factor for Obtaining Healthcare Services from Women with Disabilities Experiences in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Student: Coppens, A
Degree: MPH (in progress)
Topic: Afghan Refugee Experiences within New Zealand’s Primary Healthcare System
Student: Posimani, C
Degree: MPH (in progress)
Topic: An exploration of Niue peoples’ views on food and solutions for healthy eating, in Niue
Student: Harrison, Char
Degree: MPH (in progress)
Topic: Redefining the Ride: A Deep Dive into New Zealand's Perceptions and Realities of Low-Emission Transport
Completed PhD
2021
Student: Prana, A.
Degree: PhD
Topic: Supporting Communities to Adapt to a Flooding Environment in Jakarta
2018
Student: Macleod, M.
Degree: PhD
Topic: Understanding the rise and impact of food banks within the welfare state: A comparative study between Scotland and Finland
Completed Masters
2022
Student: Thomas, J.
Topic: Access to Active Transport and Self-Perceived Mental Health in Christchurch, New Zealand
Student: Stevenson, T.
Topic: Readability of patient information documents in Canterbury, New Zealand
2020
Student: Gibson, Hebe
Topic: Contested boundaries: E-scooter riders' and pedestrians' experiences of sharing space
2019
Student: Mukherjee, W.
Topic: Shared mobility: the future of public transport
Student: McCone, E.
Topic: Is there a relationship between school student's transport patterns and perceptions, and a significant school restructure/relocation?
2018
Student: Dares, C.
Topic: BEYOND the FORTRESS: Dis/ability, Community and Care
Student: Moore, C.
Topic: Resilience and Accessibility in post-earthquake Christchurch
2017
Student: Slaughter, H.
Topic: Generating actionable intelligence and meaningful data from a Smart Cities project
Student: Douglas-Clifford, A.
Topic: Passenger Transport Perceptions and Crowdsourcing
2014
Student: Currie, A.
Topic: Motivations and Barriers to female cycling in Glasgow
Student: McCartney, D.
Topic: Identifying locations for cycle routes in Glasgow
Completed Honours
2018
Hackett, G.
Topic: Female experiences of cycling in Christchurch
2017
Cox, D.
Topic: Is there evidence of forced car ownership in Christchurch, New Zealand?