Dr Kat Fradera

  • Research Associate (Law)

Biography

My research explores spatial justice, environmental law, democracy and public participation in environmental decision making. I have an in-depth understanding of the importance of lawscapes for contextualising spatial decisions, and focus on increasing process literacy within regulatory decision-making as a instrument for increasing access to justice and maintaining environmental democracy. My applied research focuses on coastal and marine regulation and climate adaptation.

I have come into academia with over 15 years’ experience working in environmental consenting and planning regulation and. I have detailed working knowledge of environmental regulation across UK nations and across both terrestrial and marine spaces. 

In all areas of spatial regulation I seek to understand what makes a 'good' decision, and who decides on the definition of a 'good' decision. 

Research interests

My main area of research interest is in the application of spatial justice to land-use decision making, particularly at the coast. Within this I am interested in the following areas:

- environmental democracy

- the development of environmental public law

- how spatial decisions are made within governance and regulatory frameworks

- the use of lawscapes (spatial justice) to understand values and power within decision-making

- publicness of space theories and their application to coastal and marine environments

- stakeholder engagement practices which increase decision-making transparency and justice

 

Current Research

I am currently researching flood adaptation and climate resilience through a spatial justice lens, investigating how to implement adaptation planning pathways. This work is being undertaken within the GALLANT (Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation) research project. 

 

 

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2022
Number of items: 7.

2025

McKinley, Emma and Fradera, Kathryn ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612 (2025) Shouting into the void: democratising ocean literacy through integrating process literacy. Marine Policy, 178, 106731. (doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106731)

Fradera, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612, Naylor, Larissa ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4065-2674, Jokubauskaite, Giedre and Hurst, Martin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9822-076X (2025) Briefing note: Scottish National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) policy interpretation, relationship to flood risk, sea level rise and erosion considerations, and use in decision making. Discussion Paper. SSRN. (doi: 10.2139/ssrn.5200302).

Fairbrass, A. J., Fradera, K. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612, Shucksmith, R., Greenhill, L., Acott, T. and Ekins, P. (2025) Revealing gaps in marine evidence with a natural capital lens. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 380(1917), 20230214. (doi: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0214) (PMID:39780587)

2024

McKinley, Emma, Hughes, Erika, Georgia, Stephenie, Bowyer, Cressida, Fradera, Kathryn ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612, Fairbrass, Alison and Potts, Jonathan (2024) Bringing the ocean to the stage: performing coastal values and marine management. Ocean and Society, 1, 8678. (doi: 10.17645/oas.8678)

Naylor, Larissa A. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4065-2674, Edwards, David ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6237-7434, Cotton, Isabel, Dixon, Deborah ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0846-6959, Lacsny, Alice ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2742-2244, Fradera, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612, Hurst, Martin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9822-076X and MacDonell, Craig ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5516-5078 (2024) Coastal change adaptation – are we prepared? Documentation. ClimateXChange. (doi: 10.7488/era/5741).

2022

Collins, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612 (2022) Co-production of knowledge as production of space: How we all give meaning to the sea. In: Gómez, Sílvia and Köpsel, Vera (eds.) Transdisciplinary Marine Research: Bridging Science and Society. Series: Earthscan oceans. Routledge, pp. 46-62. ISBN 9781003311171 (doi: 10.4324/9781003311171-4)

Collins, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612 (2022) Shifting sands, layering meanings a tale of the Goodwin Sands, told through its social production. Shima, 16(1), pp. 199-225. (doi: 10.21463/shima.158)

This list was generated on Sat Sep 20 10:48:48 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Book Sections | Research Reports or Papers
Number of items: 7.

Articles

McKinley, Emma and Fradera, Kathryn ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612 (2025) Shouting into the void: democratising ocean literacy through integrating process literacy. Marine Policy, 178, 106731. (doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106731)

Fairbrass, A. J., Fradera, K. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612, Shucksmith, R., Greenhill, L., Acott, T. and Ekins, P. (2025) Revealing gaps in marine evidence with a natural capital lens. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 380(1917), 20230214. (doi: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0214) (PMID:39780587)

McKinley, Emma, Hughes, Erika, Georgia, Stephenie, Bowyer, Cressida, Fradera, Kathryn ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612, Fairbrass, Alison and Potts, Jonathan (2024) Bringing the ocean to the stage: performing coastal values and marine management. Ocean and Society, 1, 8678. (doi: 10.17645/oas.8678)

Collins, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612 (2022) Shifting sands, layering meanings a tale of the Goodwin Sands, told through its social production. Shima, 16(1), pp. 199-225. (doi: 10.21463/shima.158)

Book Sections

Collins, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612 (2022) Co-production of knowledge as production of space: How we all give meaning to the sea. In: Gómez, Sílvia and Köpsel, Vera (eds.) Transdisciplinary Marine Research: Bridging Science and Society. Series: Earthscan oceans. Routledge, pp. 46-62. ISBN 9781003311171 (doi: 10.4324/9781003311171-4)

Research Reports or Papers

Fradera, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612, Naylor, Larissa ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4065-2674, Jokubauskaite, Giedre and Hurst, Martin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9822-076X (2025) Briefing note: Scottish National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) policy interpretation, relationship to flood risk, sea level rise and erosion considerations, and use in decision making. Discussion Paper. SSRN. (doi: 10.2139/ssrn.5200302).

Naylor, Larissa A. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4065-2674, Edwards, David ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6237-7434, Cotton, Isabel, Dixon, Deborah ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0846-6959, Lacsny, Alice ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2742-2244, Fradera, Kat ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8569-2612, Hurst, Martin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9822-076X and MacDonell, Craig ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5516-5078 (2024) Coastal change adaptation – are we prepared? Documentation. ClimateXChange. (doi: 10.7488/era/5741).

This list was generated on Sat Sep 20 10:48:48 2025 BST.

Prior publications

Report

Kat Fradera, Rachel Shucksmith, Lucy Greenhill (2024) Analysis of entry points for social values within marine decisions in the UK University of Highlands and Islands Kat Fradera.

Grants

GALLANT Innovation Fund 2025: Developing semi-permanence: Setting the conceptual framework to support the use of time-bound consents as a mechanism for balancing short-term economic needs with long-term climate resilient development pathways

Teaching

I provide guest lectures and seminars for the following course:

- Law and Sustainability in the Anthropocene

- Law and Just Energy Transition

- Environmental Law

 

Professional activities & recognition

Professional & learned societies

  • 2023: Chartered Environmentalist and Full Member, IEMA