Dr Jason Slade

I have been a lecturer in USP since December 2021. Prior to this I worked as a Research Associate in the department, on three UKRI funded projects: Working in the public interest?, which was the first major investigation into the increasing involvement of private companies in carrying out planning work for UK local government; Responding to and modelling the impact of Covid-19 for Sheffield’s cultural ecology; and Spaces of Hope, which looks to unearth the hidden histories of community-led planning in the UK over the last 60 years.

My background is interdisciplinary, with an undergraduate degree in English Literature (University of Sheffield, 2006-2009) followed by an MA in Town and Regional Planning (University of Sheffield, 2011-12). I completed my PhD in the department (2013-2017) on the role of narrative/storytelling in planning, particularly its efficacy for facilitating inclusion and democracy in grassroots contexts. The PhD won an RTPI research award in 2018. The research was closely linked to my involvement with the Westfield Action Research Project (WARP), which saw staff and students in the department supporting community-led planning efforts in the city. In 2015 colleagues and I were jointly awarded a Senate Award for Learning and Teaching for WARP, in the category of Collaborative Activities.

This work and experience is the foundation for my enduring interest in participation and inclusion – both in planning and academic research – and related questions around inequality, social justice and democracy. Furthermore, it underpins my commitment to a planning project broadly conceived to include a range of practices and activities – both statutory and non-statutory – and centred on the question of how we collectively make better futures together.

In between periods of study I have gained experience working in local government and in student support, and also have voluntary experience of working with young refugees and asylum seekers.