Research and expertise
I am a human geographer with many years of teaching experience in human geography and planning.
Having specialised in the field of international development I spent two years working in the Global South in universities in Eastern and Southern Africa as a teaching fellow. During this time, I delivered a range of bespoke human geography and urban planning modules. These modules focussed on contemporary issues in international development and urban planning.
My research interests are concerned with (historical) development geographies in East and Southern Africa particularly the interconnections between colonialism and development.
My research activities have been in the field of land grabbing, informal settlements and colonial development. I am currently engaged in a collaborative research project on environmental movements in the Global South.
Current research activity
- Environmental Movements in the Global South
Teaching
I contribute to learning and teaching activities across the School’s programmes including: Applied Urban Planning Project and Infrastructure Planning.
Undergraduate
- Urban Planning
Postgraduate
- MPLAN
Profile
I graduated from Coventry University in 1996 with a BA (Hons) in Planning and Local Economic Development. I continued my studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science specialising in Development receiving a MSc in 1998 and completed my PhD in Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham in 2002.
Following my PhD I spent several years teaching at Leeds Metropolitan University as a human geography lecturer. During this time, I spent two years in East Africa as a visiting teaching fellow, primarily teaching students on the built environment school modules concerning urbanisation, peri-urban development and informal settlements.
As a visiting teaching fellow at Tumaini University in Tanzania, I taught modules concerning the economic history of Tanzania and international development. In 2018, I was able to further expand my knowledge of colonialism and development as an associate lecturer in the history department teaching the African Canadian Experience at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada.
On returning to the UK in 2023, I was appointed as a human geography lecturer at the University of Northampton, before taking up the position of university teacher in urban planning at Loughborough University.
Key collaborators
My research and enterprise activities are conducted with a range of academic and stakeholder partners, including:
- University of Northampton, Faculty of Science
- University of Blantyre, Malawi, School of the Built Environment