Professor Simon Marvin
Department of Geography
Director of the Urban Institute
S.Marvin@Sheffield.ac.uk
Geography and Planning Building
Full contact details
Professor Simon Marvin
Department of Geography
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
Department of Geography
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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Simon Marvin is an internationally recognised academic with an excellent publication profile, with expertise in constructing conceptual understanding and empirical evidence of the changing relations between socio-technical networks and urban and regional restructuring.
He has extensive experience of directing successful urban research centres in previous roles at Newcastle University, Salford University, and Durham University, where he was Chair in the Department of Geography.
Simon has a number of links to Sheffield – during the mid-1980s he completed an MA in Urban Studies and Planning here and during his PhD studies at the Open University he undertook a case study of Sheffield’s combined heat and power district heating programme.
- Research interests
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Simon’s work is noted for the way it develops innovative, interdisciplinary perspectives to help open up and explore important new agendas for urban studies and infrastructural research.
He has played major roles within urban and planning research towards addressing important questions surrounding telecommunications, infrastructure and mobility, sustainability and, most recently, systemic transitions, climate change, ecological security and smart cities.
He is currently working as either PI or Co-I on five RCUK funded grants, including two projects, one impact grant, and two international networks employing five researchers as well as research work for the Swedish Mistra Urban Futures Foundation.
Finally, he regularly undertakes work for policy users, including central government and urban and regional agencies in the UK, Europe, and internationally. Simon is currently an urban expert on the JPI Urban Europe Scientific Advisory Board.
- Publications
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Books
- Introduction.
- Conclusions.
- Low carbon nation?. Taylor and Francis.
- Preface. Cambridge University Press.
- Urban Infrastructure in Transition. Routledge.
Edited books
- Cities mediating technological transitions. Routledge.
Journal articles
- Understanding the socio‐technical hybridisation of indoor‐outdoor relations: emergent, merged and stretched. Area.
- The politics of smart expectations: Interrogating the knowledge claims of smart mobility. Futures, 122. View this article in WRRO
- Urban robotic experimentation: San Francisco, Tokyo and Dubai. Urban Studies. View this article in WRRO
- Containing COVID-19 in China: AI and the robotic restructuring of future cities. Dialogues in Human Geography, 10(2), 238-241.
- Air pollution dispersal in high density urban areas: Research on the triadic relation of wind, air pollution, and urban form. Sustainable Cities and Society, 54, 101941-101941.
- Robotics and automation in the city : a research agenda. Urban Geography. View this article in WRRO
- Microclimates of urban reproduction : the limits of automating environmental control. Antipode. View this article in WRRO
- Constructing domestic retrofit as a new urban infrastructure: experimentation, equitability and contested priorities. Local Environment, 24(9), 825-842.
- Bifurcated Urban Integration: The selective dis- and re-assembly of infrastructures. Urban Studies (Sage). View this article in WRRO
- Urban living laboratories: Conducting the experimental city?. European Urban and Regional Studies, 26(4), 317-335.
- National urban policy making and its potential for sustainable urbanism. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 34, 48-53.
- Controlled environments: An urban research agenda on microclimatic enclosure. Urban Studies, 55(6), 1143-1162. View this article in WRRO
- Constructing A Universal Logic of Urban Control?: International Standards for City Data, Management and Interoperability. City, 22(2), 298-307. View this article in WRRO
- The future of sustainable cities: governance, policy and knowledge. Local Environment, 22(sup1), 1-7. View this article in WRRO
- Intensifying or transforming sustainable cities? Fragmented logics of urban environmentalism. Local Environment, 22(Sup 1), 8-22. View this article in WRRO
- The mutual construction of urban retrofit and scale: Governing ON, IN and WITH in Greater Manchester. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 35(7), 1198-1217.
- Urban Operating Systems: Diagramming the City. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 41(1), 84-103. View this article in WRRO
- Powering sub-Saharan Africa’s urban revolution: An energy transitions approach. Urban Studies, 54(4), 847-861. View this article in WRRO
- Urban living labs: governing urban sustainability transitions. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 22, 13-17.
- The maintenance of urban circulation: An operational logic of infrastructural control. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 34(2), 191-208.
- Developing a critical understanding of smart urbanism?. Urban Studies, 52(12), 2105-2116.
- Briefing: Re-Engineering the City 2020–2050 – Urban Foresight and Transition Management. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Urban Design and Planning, 167(1), 1-4.
- The Intermediary Organisation of Low Carbon Cities: A Comparative Analysis of Transitions in Greater London and Greater Manchester. Urban Studies, 50(7), 1403-1422.
- Reshaping Urban Infrastructure. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 16(6), 789-800.
- Mediating Low-Carbon Urban Transitions? Forms of Organization, Knowledge and Action. European Planning Studies, 20(3), 421-439.
- A Reply to Lowe and Phillipson. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 42(12), 3039-3040.
- Urbanism in the anthropocene: Ecological urbanism or premium ecological enclaves?. City, 14(3), 298-313.
- Can cities shape socio-technical transitions and how would we know if they were?. Research Policy, 39(4), 477-485.
- Organising water: The hidden role of intermediary work. Water Alternatives, 2(1), 16-33.
- Cities mediating technological transitions: understanding visions, intermediation and consequences. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 21(4), 515-534.
- ‘Urban Ecological Security’: A New Urban Paradigm?. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 33(1), 193-215.
- Making Water Work: Intermediating between Regional Strategy and Local Practice. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 26(2), 280-299.
- Constructing a typology of H2 in cities and regionsAn international review. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 33(6), 1619-1629.
- A team from SURF look at the importance of active intermediaries in knowledge exchange for policy and practice. Regions Magazine, 272(1), 23-26.
- Understanding the Role of the National Exemplar in Constructing ?Strategic Glurbanization?. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 31(2), 303-325.
- Strategic intermediation: between regional strategy and local practice. Sustainable Development, 15(5), 318-327.
- Reconnecting the technology characterisation of the hydrogen economy to contexts of consumption. Energy Policy, 34(17), 3006-3016.
- POLICY IV: REGIONAL SCIENCE IN ACTION IN TEESSIDE. Regions Magazine, 263(1), 13-14.
- Researching the Sustainable City: Three Modes of Interdisciplinarity. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 38(6), 1009-1028.
- Metabolisms of Obecity: Flows of Fat through Bodies, Cities, and Sewers. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 38(2), 313-324.
- Negotiating contested visions and place-specific expectations of the hydrogen economy. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 18(3-4), 361-374.
- Fat city. World Watch, 18(5), 10-14.
- From the Politics of Urgency to the Governance of Preparedness: A Research Agenda on Urban Vulnerability. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 13(2), 44-49.
- City futures Views from the centre. City, 7(2), 213-225.
- Developing urban and regional foresight: exploring capacities and identifying needs in the North West. Futures, 34(8), 761-777.
- Constructing sustainable urban futures: from models to competing pathways. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 19(2), 131-139.
- Views of the City: Multiple pathways to sustainable transport futures. Local Environment, 6(2), 121-133.
- Pre-payment: emerging pathways to water services. Third World Planning Review, 23(2), 213-221.
- Understanding urban futures: between science and science fiction. Foresight, 2(6), 559-577.
- Globalisation, Neoliberalism, and Negotiated Development in the Andes: Water Projects and Regional Identity in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 31(8), 1401-1415.
- Understanding Sustainable Cities: Competing Urban Futures. European Urban and Regional Studies, 6(3), 268-275.
- Pathways of smart metering development: shaping environmental innovation. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 23(2), 109-126.
- An Emerging Logic of Urban Water Management, Cochabamba, Bolivia. Urban Studies, 36(2), 341-357.
- Planning cybercities: integrating telecommunications into urban planning. Town Planning Review, 70(1), 89-89.
- Cities, regions and privatised utilities. Progress in Planning, 51(2), 91-165.
- Cities, regions and privatised utilities - Introduction. PROGRESS IN PLANNING, 51, 93-+.
- Electricity in the marketplace: reconfiguring the consumption of essential resources. Local Environment, 3(3), 313-331.
- Electricity in the marketplace: Reconfiguring the consumption of essential resources. Local Environment, 3(3), 313-331.
- Telecommunications and sustainable cities. URBAN DESIGN International, 3(4), 195-199.
- Infrastructure Provision, Development Processes and the Co-production of Environmental Value. Urban Studies, 34(12), 2023-2036.
- Consuming water: Evolving strategies of water management in Britain. Journal of Urban Technology, 4(3), 21-45.
- Creating myths rather than sustainability: The transition fallacies of the new localism. Local Environment, 2(3), 311-318.
- Book reviews. Journal of Urban Technology, 4(1), 99-105.
- Splintering Networks: Cities and Technical Networks in 1990s Britain. Urban Studies, 34(2), 191-216.
- Environmental flows. Futures, 29(1), 47-65.
- Urban infrastructure: The contemporary conflict between roads and utilities. Progress in Planning, 48(4), iii-318.
- The New Urban Infrastructure Crisis Competition for Urban Space. Public Works Management & Policy, 2(2), 148-158.
- Smart Metering Technologies and Privatised Utilities. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 12(2), 119-132.
- Urban Infrastructure: The Contemporary Conflict Between Roads and Utilities. Progress in Planning, 48(4), 247-318.
- Managing Water Stress: The Logic of Demand Side Infrastructure Planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 39(1), 123-130.
- Privatized Utilities and Regional Governance: The New Regional Managers?. Regional Studies, 30(8), 733-739.
- Transforming urban infrastructure provision—The emerging logic of demand side management. Policy Studies, 17(2), 137-147.
- Building the public city - The politics, governance and finance of public infrastructure - Perry,DC. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, 20(2), 372-373.
- Disconnected Policy: The Shaping of Local Energy Management. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 14(1), 145-158.
- The socio-economic benefits of a universal telephone network: A demand-side view of universal service. Telecommunications Policy, 20(1), 3-10.
- Demand-side management in the electricity sector. Land Use Policy, 12(3), 205-221.
- Reconfiguring urban networks: Demand‐side management in the United Kingdom. Journal of Urban Technology, 2(3), 45-58.
- Local authorities and energy markets in the 1990s: Getting back into power?. Local Government Studies, 21(3), 461-482.
- Accessibility to utility networks: Local policy issues. Local Government Studies, 20(3), 437-457.
- Land use planning and the water sector: a review of development plans and catchment management plans. Town Planning Review, 65(4), 375-375.
- Utilities and territorial management in the 1990s. Town & Country Planning, 63(1), 27-30.
- Telematics and the convergence of urban infrastructure: implications for contemporary cities. Town Planning Review, 65(3), 227-227.
- Green signals. Cities, 11(5), 325-331.
- Cherry picking and social dumping. Utilities Policy, 4(2), 113-119.
- Privatization of utilities: The implications for cities in the United Kingdom. Journal of Urban Technology, 2(1), 47-66.
- Utility networks and urban planning: An issue agenda. Planning Practice & Research, 8(4), 6-14.
- REGIONAL POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF UTILITY REGIONALIZATION. REGIONAL STUDIES, 27(2), 159-165.
- Editorial. Planning Practice & Research, 7(1), 3-3.
- Urban policy and infrastructure networks. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 7(3), 225-247.
- Towards sustainable urban environments: the potential for least‐cost planning approaches. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 35(2), 193-200.
- Combined heat and power/district heating: A review. Planning Practice & Research, 6(2), 31-35.
- Editorial. Planning Practice and Research, 5(3), 3-3.
- Local authority technology policies. Planning Outlook, 33(1), 31-45.
- Book reviews. Planning Outlook, 32(2), 134-139.
- Making space for drones: the contested reregulation of airspace in Tanzania and Rwanda. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.
- The politics of governing cities, infrastructures and resource flows: spaces of reproduction or reconfiguration?. Geographica Helvetica, 66(2), 108-114.
Chapters
- Beyond the Myths of the New Environmental Localism, The Challenge of Environmental Management in Urban Areas (pp. 215-224).
- Beyond the Myths of the New Environmental Localism, The Challenge of Environmental Management in Urban Areas (pp. 215-224). Routledge
- Retrofitting obsolete suburbs: Networks, fixes, and divisions, Critical Perspectives on Suburban Infrastructures: Contemporary International Cases (pp. 318-339).
- Smart urbanism in Barcelona: A knowledge-politics perspective In Jensen J, Späth P & Cashmore M (Ed.), The Politics of Urban Sustainability Transitions: Knowledge, Power and Governance Routledge View this article in WRRO
- Rethinking urban transitions: An analytical framework, Rethinking Urban Transitions: Politics in the Low Carbon City (pp. 13-36).
- Competition for urban space: Tensions between conduits and corridors, Infrastructure Provision and the Negotiating Process (pp. 223-234).
- Urban futures? Integrating telecommunications into urban planning, The Governance of Place: Space and Planning Processes (pp. 124-153).
- Postscript: A manifesto for a progressive networked urbanism, Contemporary Movements in Planning Theory: Critical Essays in Planning Theory: Volume 3 (pp. 257-275).
- Subnational, Inter-scalar Dynamics: The Differentiated Geographies of Governing Low Carbon Transitions—With Examples from the UK, Hexagon Series on Human and Environmental Security and Peace (pp. 465-477). Springer International Publishing
- Restabilizing a heterogeneous network: The Yorkshire drought 1995-96, Urban Infrastructure in Transition: Networks, Buildings and Plans (pp. 68-77).
- Urban environmental flows: Towards a new way of seeing, Urban Infrastructure in Transition: Networks, Buildings and Plans (pp. 22-37).
- Local energy planning and electricity networks: Disconnections and reconnections, Urban Infrastructure in Transition: Networks, Buildings and Plans (pp. 143-159).
- Conclusions: Contesting networks, Urban Infrastructure in Transition: Networks, Buildings and Plans (pp. 197-206).
- Bricks versus clicks: Planning for the digital economy, Digital Futures: Living in a Networked World (pp. 200-218).
- Telecommunications and sustainable cities, Global City Regions: Their Emerging Forms (pp. 244-248).
- Models and pathways: The diversity of sustainable urban futures, Achieving Sustainable Urban Form (pp. 9-18).
- Re-thinking Sustainable Knowledge-Based Urbanism Through Active Intermediation, Production and Use of Urban Knowledge (pp. 151-167). Springer Netherlands
- Emerging strategies of urban reproduction and the pursuit of low carbon cities, The Future of Sustainable Cities: Critical Reflections (pp. 113-130).
- Hydrogen in cities and regions: An international review, Hydrogen Energy: Economic and Social Challenges (pp. 153-174).
- Cities mediating technological transitions: The adaptability of infrastructure and infrastructures of adaptability?, International Handbook of Urban Policy, Volume 1: Contentious Global Issues (pp. 240-258).
- Risk and the Public Acceptance of New Technologies Palgrave Macmillan UK
- Ecology of intermediation, Industrial Ecology and Spaces of Innovation (pp. 238-251).
- Urban Living Labs Routledge
- Smart Urbanism Routledge
- After Sustainable Cities? Routledge
- Achieving ‘systemic’ urban retrofit, Retrofitting the Built Environment (pp. 5-19). John Wiley & Sons
- Renewable Energy and the Public Routledge
- Cities and Low Carbon Transitions Routledge
- Hydrogen Energy Routledge
- Disrupted Cities Routledge
- Cities Mediating Technological Transitions: The Adaptability of Infrastructure and Infrastructures of Adaptability? Edward Elgar Publishing
- In the Nature of Cities Routledge
- Sustaining Urban Networks Routledge
Conference proceedings papers
- Can cities shape socio-technical transitions and how would we know if they were?. CITIES AND LOW CARBON TRANSITIONS, Vol. 35 (pp 54-70)
- Untitled. CITIES AND LOW CARBON TRANSITIONS, Vol. 35 (pp 198-202)
- Untitled. CITIES AND LOW CARBON TRANSITIONS, Vol. 35 (pp 1-10)
- Making a Difference: Sociology of Scientific Knowledge and Urban Energy Policies. Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 24(1) (pp 105-131)
- More than ducts and wires: Post-fordism, cities an utility networks. MANAGING CITIES (pp 169-189)
Reports
- Urban Robotics and Automation: Critical Challenges, International Experiments and Transferable Lessons for the UK
- Introduction.