Nick is Head of Birmingham School of the Built Environment. His subject expertise is in planning and related processes – specifically, in greenspace planning, urban form and placemaking, land-use change, and planning history. He also has a long-standing interest in pedagogic research and general learning and teaching issues, and holds a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship awarded by the Higher Education Academy. His research in the field of urban morphology has been published in sector-leading journals including Urban Studies and Cities, and he is currently part of a research team examining decision-making processes in the rural-urban fringe.
PG Cert Ed., UCE Birmingham (2004)
PhD, Development Control, Conflict and Change in the Residential Townscape, University of Birmingham (1998)
BSocSci (Hons) Geography and Planning (1st Class), University of Birmingham (1993)
Association of National Teaching Fellows, funded by the Higher Education Academy
Executive Group of the Council of Heads of Department of the Built Environment (CHOBE)
Research Grants and Projects
2010-2012
‘Managing Environmental Change at the Rural-Urban Fringe’, Rural Economy and Land Use Programme (£145k; co-investigator)
2011
‘It’s Everyone’s School: the student view on the student experience in PCP’, Student Academic Partners scheme, BCU (£1.5k; lead and author)
2007-2009
‘Creating Future-proof Graduates’, National Teaching Fellowship Scheme Project, Higher Education Academy (£200k; co-author and Board member)
2004-2006
‘Supporting a Diverse Student Population’ and ‘Enhancing Employability Through the Use of Gaming and Simulation’, UCE Birmingham Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund (project leader, and co-leader/co-author (latter))
2000-2002
‘Historical Layering and the Form of Urban Regeneration’, Leverhulme Trust (£50k; co-author and named research fellow)
1997-1999
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow on projects funded by (i) British Academy and (ii) Natural Environment Research Council, University of Birmingham
Selected publications
2011
‘Drawing lines on maps: morphological regions and planning practices’, Urban Morphology vol. 15 no. 2 pp. 133-151 (with P.J. Larkham)
2010
‘Creating future-proof graduates using scenario based learning’ in Errington, E. (Ed.) Preparing Graduates for the Professions using Scenario Based Learning, Brisbane, Australia, Post Pressed Publications (with A Hill, C Popovic, R Lawton and J Eland)
2009
'Using Critical Incidents to Create Learning Pathways Between the Real World and Places of Learning: Findings from a 2 Year Funded Project Aimed at Improving Understanding and Capability in Key Employability Skills' The International Journal of Learning 16 (with A. Hill, C. Popovic, R. Lawton, J. Eland, R. Curzon, D. Eastcott and C. Tomas)
2006
‘The Fringe-belt Phenomenon and Socio-economic Change’, Urban Studies 43 (11), pp. 2047-2066 (with J.W.R. Whitehand)
‘The Effectiveness of e-learning’, International Journal of Architectural Engineering & Design Management - Special issue on Teaching and Learning in the Built Environment, pp. 73-86 (with E. Chinyio)
2004
‘Urban Morphology and Planning: the case of fringe belts’, Cities 21 (4) pp. 275 – 89 (with J.W.R. Whitehand)
2003
‘Fringe belts and the recycling of urban land: an academic concept and planning practice’, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 30 (6) pp. 819 – 39 (with J.W.R. Whitehand)
‘Fringe belts and city planning: reality and potential’, in Petruccioli, A. (Ed.), The Planned City?, Proceedings of the International Seminar on Urban Form, July 2003, Uniongrafica Corcelli Editrice, Bari, pp. 742 – 48 (with J.W.R. Whitehand and M.I.W Hopkins)
2002
‘Reinventing Morphological Regions?’, Urban Morphology Vol. 6 (2) p. 97
1999
'Urban morphogenesis at the micro-scale: how houses change' Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 26 (4) pp. 503 - 15 (with J.W.R. Whitehand and C.M.H. Carr)
Consultancy
2005
Residential Character Study of Stratford-upon-Avon, Report commissioned by Stratford-on-Avon District Council (with P.J. Larkham, D. Chapman, and A. Birkamshaw)
2003
Measuring the Benefits of Urban Green Spaces, Report commissioned by the Landscape Practice Group, Birmingham City Council
Selected Conference Papers
2011
‘Mapping conservation areas: measuring aspects of character and drawing designation boundaries’, 2011 UK/Ireland Planning Research Conference (with P.J. Larkham)
2009
'The Creative dynamic: innovative solutions to teaching transferable skills in the classroom', Presented at INTED 2009, Valencia, Spain (with A. Hill, R. Curzon, C. Tomas, J. Eland, R. Lawton and C. Popovic)
‘Reshaping Places: changing the character of Birmingham’s suburbs’, Birmingham City University RESCON 09 (with P.J. Larkham)
2008
‘Increasing density in mature suburbs: character, resistance and quality?’, Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference, London (with P.J. Larkham)
Enhancing Employability through Games and Simulations’, Workshop at Leeds Metropolitan University (with R.L. Curzon and Hill, A.)
‘The Educational Value of Games’, First-Year Learning Experiences: Sharing Good Practice Conference, Leeds Metropolitan University
2007
'Suburban Form Under Pressure: contemporary change and the phenomenon of "garden-grabbing"', English Heritage/IHBC conference Suburbs: buildings and society, University of Oxford
‘Enhancing Employability through Games and Simulations’, Creativity or Conformity?: building cultures of creativity in higher education Conference, Cardiff
2006
'Drawing lines on maps: morphological regions and planning practice', Conference of the Nordic Network on Urban Morphology, KTH Stockholm (with P.J. Larkham)
2005
‘Change and Continuity in the UK’s Traditional Suburbs’, ISUF Symposium on Tradition and Modernity in Urban Form, London (with P.J. Larkham)
‘Suburban character and intensification: tensions and policy approaches in the Birmingham region’, Planning Research Conference, Manchester (with P.J. Larkham)
‘Using peer ‘vocational’ mentors and other pedagogical approaches to create a climate for shared learning’, SEDA/AISHE Spring Conference on Inspiring Learning: Diversity and Excellence, Belfast (with A. Hill)
‘A little bit of what you fancy’,International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, Bloomington, USA (with A. Hill)
2003
‘Fringe belts and city planning: reality and potential' International Seminar on Urban Form, Trani, Italy (with J.W.R. Whitehand and M.I.W. Hopkins)
