Welcome to the web pages for the Urban Research Group. We are a group of researchers whose areas of expertise covers urban and regional planning, urban regeneration, urban studies, urban design and housing. We made up almost half of the University’s contribution to the Town and Country Planning Unit in RAE2008, where 70% of our work was judged to be of an international standard and within that 25% regarded as internationally excellent.

We are an energetic and diverse group, united by a common interest in the challenges facing our cities, with a particular emphasis on social and spatial questions. Our individual research interests arc across a broad spectrum of inquiry, from a paradigm shifting study of world cities to the intricacies of local neighbourhood governance. We have excellent links with researchers in other departments and schools in the University, for example in Tourism, Architecture, Photography, Law and Business.  Members of the group have fostered strong associations with international networks of researchers in the fields of planning, urban studies and regeneration and work together with them on research projects and publishing findings.

Our work crosses disciplinary boundaries and subject areas. We adopt a broad definition of research that incorporates applied research into policy and practice as well as more critical investigations and theoretically inclined work. We also work jointly with practitioners on projects that have direct impact on organisations and practices. Our external funding for projects has come from research organisations such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Leverhulme Foundation and the AHRC, central government departments, government agencies such as the Planning Inspectorate, English Partnerships and the New Deal for Communities, charities such as the Institute for Alcohol Studies, local authorities in London and the south-east and private individuals.

We adopt a fluid approach to working either alone or in teams, ensuring that the research is appropriate to the specific project, whether it is designed for an academic publication, funded research study or other type of output, such as a masterplan. The diagram below sets out the scale and scope of our interests. These can be roughly grouped into four themes: housing and neighbourhoods; governance and sustainability; international planning; and the night-time economy. In addition we conduct methodological studies; for example looking at innovative uses of film/video as well as professionally-orientated  enquiry, for example identifiying contemporary skills required in planning practice. The group also includes a separate centre for international development within the Group, The Max Lock Centre.

We currently have nine PhD students attached to our research group. Brief summaries of their topics are provided on the PhD student web pages. We are supportive of their work and encourage a mixed methods approach, including design, to the diverse range of issues they are examining.

Examples of recent and forthcoming publications:

• Allen, J, Lloyd-Jones, T, Lucas, K and Manzi, T (eds.) (forthcoming 2010) Social Sustainability in Urban Areas: Communities, Connectivity and the Urban Fabric, London: Earthscan.
• Newman, P. & Greenwood D. (forthcoming 2010) Markets, Large Projects and Sustainable Development: Traditional and New Planning in the Thames Gateway, Urban Studies.
• Bailey, N. & Manzi, T. (2008) Developing and sustaining mixed tenure housing developments: Reviewing the Evidence. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Kamvasinou, K. (2006) Reclaiming the Obsolete in Transitional Landscapes: perception, motion, engagement, Journal of Landscape Architecture, 2006/2, pp.16-27.
• Roberts, M. & Eldridge A. (2009) Planning the Night-time City Routledge ISBN 0-415-43617-6 ; 0-414-43618-4.

For further details of current and recent projects and further lists of publications please see the web-pages for the following staff who are attached to the group:

Judith Allen
Professor Nick Bailey
Tim Edmundson
Dr Adam Eldridge
Anna Haworth
Dr Peter Harvie
Ripin Kalra
Dr Krystallia Kamvasinou
Tony Lloyd-Jones
Alan Mace
Dr Tony Manzi
Dr Suzy Nelson
Professor Peter Newman
Professor Marion Roberts

For further information contact:

Professor Marion Roberts
Director, Urban Research Group
Email M.E.Roberts@westminster.ac.uk
Voicemail +44 207 911 5000 x3106