Department of Urban Studies

The Department of Urban Studies is a world-leading centre for innovative, interdisciplinary urban research and teaching at the forefront of academic and policy thinking.

Our work spans essential aspects of social, economic and physical change in cities, linking concerns with housing, labour markets and governance systems to cognate issues of rising importance in health, crime, education, real estate, planning and the environment.     

We use mixed methods and multi-level approaches to generate a deep understanding of dynamic urban interactions and causal relationships in order to produce vital practical knowledge for shaping places and strengthening communities.   

We are one of the largest centres for urban research in the UK with more than 30 academic and research staff, over 20 doctoral students and 9 support staff. The international quality and scope of our research activity has been widely acclaimed with its emphasis on interdisciplinary analysis of cities, markets and regions and the experiences of urban residents and neighbourhoods.

The Department of Urban Studies is also at the forefront of education in housing, planning, real estate, regeneration, urban policy and public policy. We provide a range of class-leading Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral degree programmes which attract students from across the UK, Europe and worldwide.  Our programmes all combine academic rigour with a strong application to policy and practice and incorporate the most up to date research and policy thinking.