Chad Walker

Chad (he/him) is an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist with interests around justice, equity, and public support for low-carbon transitions. Recent published research includes studying the impact of environmental justice in shaping support for wind energy, critically investigating the meaning of community and local energy, and using diverse methodologies to better understand reconciliation and pathways for improved health via Indigenous-led renewable energy development. Through all of this work, he has used a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, spurring a keen interest in the ways we think about and practice mixed methods.

After earning his PhD from Western University, Chad worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Queen’s University (2017–2019), the University of Exeter (2019–2021), the University of Saskatchewan (2021), and the University of Waterloo (2022). He began work at Dalhousie in 2022, where he is an Assistant Professor in the School of Planning and holds a cross-appointment with the School for Resource and Environmental Studies. Chad is also Research Associate at the University of Exeter.

• Low-carbon energy transitions
• Indigenous-led renewable energy
• Climate change
• Community/local energy

• Environmental policy and planning
• Sustainable development
• Local governance

• PLAN 3115/5115: Social Justice
• PLAN 4050: Thesis Proposal
• PLAN 4035/5035: Application of Planning Law
• PLAN 5034: Planning Research Methods
• PLAN 6250: Maritime Field Trip

• PhD, Geography (Environment and Sustainability) University of Western Ontario
• MA, Geography (Environment and Sustainability) University of Western Ontario
• BA, Environmental Policy and Analysis (Magna Cum Laude) Bowling Green State University

• Advancing Water Stewardship Across Wabanaki (NSERC Alliance Grant)
• Sharing our knowledge: Incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems to build governance for climate resiliency (New Frontiers in Research Fund)

Energy Transitions and Local Governance

• [Em]powering Communities Analysis of Participation and Equity within Halifax’s Solar Energy Transition (Halifax Climate Investment, Innovation, and Impact Fund)
• Exploring Local Climate Change Action in Canada: Place-based strategies, community engagement, and environmental justice (SSHRC Insight Grant)
• Laying the foundation: Supporting Impact Assessment for Offshore Wind Energy in Nova Scotia (Ocean Frontier Institute)
• Exploring local engagement and participatory place branding through the rollout of Local Smart Grids in cities within the UK and Canada (British Academy)
• Off-grid renewable energy for (re)defining energy access and use in urban settings (British Academy)

• Ahern, B., Walker, C, Roux, JP, Chateau, Z. (2025). Views from the shore: An analysis of public comments on an offshore wind energy future in Nova Scotia, Canada. Canadian Planning and Policy. https://doi.org/10.24908/cpp-apc.v2025i1.18292
• Rowlands, I., Walker, C., Devine-Wright, P., Wilson, C., Fiander, J., Soutar, I., Gupta, R. (2025). Prospects for public participation in energy transitions in Canada: Householders’ interests in generating, coordinating, and trading energy at the local level. Canadian Geographies/Association Canadienne des Géographes.
• Soutar, I., Devine-Wright, P., Devine-Wright, H., Walker, C., Wilson, C., Gupta, R., Anable, J. (2024). Clear support for an unclear concept? Public attitudes towards local energy systems in the United Kingdom. Energy Research and Social Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103658
• Walker, C., Rowlands, I., Devine-Wright, P., Soutar, I., Wilson, C., Gupta, R., Devine-Wright, H., Bishwokarma, J., Ford, R. (2024). The ‘Four Ds’ and support for Local Smart Grids: Analysis from national surveys in the United Kingdom and Canada. Oxford Open Energy. https://doi.org/10.1093/ooenergy/oiae004
• Eves, E., Walker, C. (2024). Encouraging green infrastructure at Ontario universities: What’s policy got to do with it? Urban Resilience and Sustainability. 10.3934/urs.2023017

• Fiander, J., Walker, C., Rowlands, I., Devine-Wright, P., Wilson, C., Soutar, I., Gupta, R. (2024). Energy democracy, public participation, and support for local energy system change in Canada. Energy Research and Social Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103526
• Calderwood, C., Walker, C., Biggar, J. (2024). Incentivizing landlord engagement in a clean energy transition in Nova Scotia, Canada: A case study of Energize Bridgewater. Journal of Green Building. https://doi.org/10.3992/jgb.19.3.139
• Alkhayyat, Y., Walker, C., Warren, G., Cleave, E. (2023). You’ve Declared a Climate Emergency …What Now? Exploring Climate Action, Energy Planning, and Participatory Place Branding in Canadian Cities. Urban Resilience and Sustainability. 10.3934/urs.2023014
• Gooding, L., Devine-Wright, P., Rohse, M., Ford, R., Walker, C., Soutar, I., & Devine-Wright, H. (2023). The best-laid plans: Tracing public engagement change in emergent Smart Local Energy Systems. Energy Research & Social Science, 101, 103125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103125
• Ryder, S., Walker, C., Batel, S., Devine-Wright, H., and Devine-Wright, P. (2023). Do the ends justify the means? Problematizing social acceptance and instrumentally-driven community engagement in proposed energy projects. Socio-Ecological Practice Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-023-00148-8

• 2022: AMTD Global Talent Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
• 2020-2022: Outstanding Reviewer Award – Energy Research and Social Science
• 2015-2017: SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship
• 2015-2017: Ontario Graduate Scholarship

• 2014-2016: Ontario Graduate Scholarship
• 2014, 2015: Finalist, Three Minute Thesis Competition
• 2013: AAG-Jeanne X. Kasperson Award for research in Risk Analysis

• 2025-2027: Exploring Local Climate Change Action in Canada: Place-based strategies, community engagement, and environmental justice (SSHRC Insight Development Grant)
• 2025: Laying the foundation: Supporting Impact Assessment for Offshore Wind Energy in Nova Scotia (Ocean Frontier Institute Seed Fund)
• 2024-2027: Sharing our knowledge: Incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems to build governance for climate resiliency (New Frontiers in Research Fund – International)

• 2024-2029: Advancing water stewardship across Wabanaki (NSERC Alliance Grant)
• 2023-2025: [Em]powering Communities: A Review of Participation, Inclusivity, Equity, and Support within Solar City (Halifax Climate Investment, Innovation and Impact Fund)