In 1982 she was based in Lund as a research fellow of the Swedish Council for Humanities and Social Sciences, then briefly a professor at the Université d'Ottawa (1989–91) before moving to University College Dublin 1991–2003.

[6] In the early part of her career, the quantitative revolution occupied social scientists, and Buttimer trained in this tradition at Washington before moving beyond it towards philosophical themes at the intersection of the bio-physical and human sciences.

Her contributions have been to history and philosophy of science, urban and social geography, migration and identity, environmental experience, nature and culture, environment and sustainable development, and the human dimensions of global change.

She chaired an EU-funded research network on sustainable development that had a significant influence on EU policy debates; her work provided important insights into the ways in which communication between scientists and planners can be improved.

She authored many books and articles on society and space, urban planning, the history of ideas, and environmental policy.