Prof Jennie Middleton awarded prestigious British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship

Professor Jennie Middleton, Associate Professor of Human Geography at the Transport Studies Unit, has been awarded a highly competitive British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship to support an innovative research project exploring the experiences of neurodivergent people navigating urban environments on foot.

The fellowship, worth £143,094.89, will fund Professor Middleton’s project, Masked Mobilities: Urban Walking in the Neurodivergent City, which examines the often-hidden challenges faced by neurodivergent adults—including people with autism, ADHD and related conditions—when walking through cities.

The British Academy’s Mid-Career Fellowships are designed to support outstanding researchers in the humanities and social sciences by providing dedicated time to pursue major research projects while promoting public engagement with their work. The awards recognise scholars who have made significant contributions to their field and demonstrated excellence in communicating research beyond academia.

Building on more than 15 years of research into everyday urban mobilities and care, Professor Middleton’s project will investigate how neurodivergent people experience and navigate urban spaces in Oxford and Swindon. Central to the research is the concept of “masked mobilities”, which captures the hidden labour involved in suppressing or adapting neurodivergent traits in order to conform to everyday social expectations while moving through the city.

Many neurodivergent people engage in “masking” as they navigate public spaces and social interactions, often at considerable cost to their physical and mental wellbeing. Despite walking being widely promoted as an inclusive, healthy and sustainable form of transport, urban planning and transport policy have rarely considered the specific experiences and needs of neurodivergent pedestrians.

Through sensory elicitation methods and close collaboration with neurodivergent participants, the project will co-produce new insights into how urban environments are experienced, negotiated and sometimes endured. The research aims to address significant gaps at the intersection of urban mobility, care and disability studies.

The findings will contribute to more inclusive approaches to transport planning and public policy, while also helping to increase public understanding of neurodivergent experiences. As part of the project’s public engagement programme, Professor Middleton and participants will co-curate an interactive mobile exhibition that brings these experiences to wider audiences.

The fellowship represents a significant recognition of Professor Middleton’s pioneering work on mobility, care and urban life, and reinforces Oxford’s leading role in research that seeks to make cities more equitable and accessible for all.

(via St Anne's College)