I’m an economic geographer who uses a lot of economics.

I have three main research areas:

  1. The economics of cultural diversity – in particular, the economic performance of diverse cities, and links between immigration, diverse communities, innovation and entrepreneurship. With colleagues from UCL, LSE, Birmingham, Toronto and Insubria, I'm currently leading a major new ESRC-funded programme on these topics.

  2. Innovation systems – I’m looking at the microfoundations of innovative activity and the importance of proximity in supporting ideas creation and flow, in workspaces, teams and clusters.

  3. Public policy for cities – drawing on my policy background and past role in the What Works Centre, I’m interested in urban economic development strategies, policy evaluation methods, and forms of urban governance.

I’m also interested in cities and the creative industries, and in policies for urban public space.

I'm always interested to hear from potential PHD students and research assistants. See here for more.