Hamil is an urban geographer with expertise in the environmental and social justice dimensions of urban processes and change. She uses mixed-methods approaches, including geospatial techniques and qualitative methods, to discern local patterns and processes. Her work investigates how efforts to mitigate the risks from urban environmental hazards, from brownfields to climate change, may intentionally or unintentionally exacerbate existing or create new social and environmental vulnerabilities and injustices. A key focus of her work has involved examining green gentrification, or how local environmental improvements, such as urban greening, can raise property values, spur development, and create the conditions for residential and commercial displacement.
Hamil is increasingly focused on forward-looking solutions to redress long-standing injustices based on fundamental reconfigurations of the processes that create landscapes of risk and vulnerability. She is invested in research on the co-production of knowledge and how to work with diverse stakeholders to develop new approaches that center principles of equity and justice. A key component of her research is engaging with local communities and stakeholders to advance new approaches to urban environmental justice that meet local needs.
