Professor Rowland Atkinson
School of Geography and Planning
Research Chair in Inclusive Societies
rowland.atkinson@sheffield.ac.uk
D26b, Geography and Planning Building
Full contact details
Professor Rowland Atkinson
School of Geography and Planning
D26b
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
School of Geography and Planning
D26b
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
-
Rowland’s work crosses the disciplinary boundaries of urban and housing studies, sociology, geography and criminology. At the core of his work is an interest in how forms of poverty and exclusion are related to the choices and actions of more advantaged groups in cities. These interests have led him to conduct pioneering working on gentrification and displacement, gated communities and their wider social effects, social mix and public housing estates and, most recently, the impact of the super-rich on urban life.
Through his work Rowland has sought to understand the spatial form of social inequalities in cities. Such spatialised inequalities may be seen the examples of the material wealth disparities that drive gentrification, the displacement of crime by gated communities, or the hoarding of housing resources by the wealthy. He is the author of Alpha City: How the Super-Rich Captured London (Verso), Urban Criminology (with Gareth Millington) and Domestic Fortress: Fear and the New Home Front (with Sarah Blandy).
From 1997 Rowland worked at the Department of Urban Studies, at the University of Glasgow, where he looked at issues of social exclusion and area effects (the compounding force of disadvantage faced by poorer residents in poorer areas). It was here that he also took an interest in the rise of gated communities in the UK, leading the first UK study and beginning to further consider the role of the middle-classes and higher income households in shaping social outcomes more broadly across the city. Rowland is currently working a suite of research projects as part of the Global Alpha NETwork, or GANET. This includes work on offshore investment in urban spaces and its links to crime, the capture of city contexts by the super-rich and a historical analysis of wealth elites in the urban north of England.
Professor Rowland Atkinson talks about teaching in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield
- Qualifications
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From 2005 I directed the Housing and Community Research Unit, University of Tasmania, Australia, where a very different urban context and issues of indigenous health and housing influenced my thinking. My work here continued to focus on issues of gentrification, public housing and state-led strategies of social mixing to create more sustainable communities and I worked on a series of initiatives designed to generate more interest in these issues from policy-makers nationally.
From 2009 I moved back to the UK to the University of York where I became Reader in Urban Studies and Criminology and my work became more focused on questions of social harm and crime in urban contexts (a book on Urban Criminology, with Gareth Millington, is now in print with Routledge).
- Research interests
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- Gentrification and displacement
- Cities and crime
- Wealth
- Poverty and exclusion
- Segregation and urban security
- Gated communities and fortress homes
Research projects
- Social inequalities and urban fragmentation strategies (Newton Mobility Grant)
- War in Peacetime: Investigating urban violence and social trauma (Max Batley)
- Challenging the stigmatisation of poverty and place-based disadvantage (Australian Research Council)
- Life in the Alpha-Territory: London's 'super-rich' neighbourhoods (ESRC)
- Alpha territoriality in Hong Kong and London: The local implications of transnational real estate investment by the super-rich (HK RGC and UK ESRC)
- Empty Homes: The Impact on ‘Blue-Green’ Towns (Funder: ABRDN Financial Fairness Trust)
Professor Rowland Atkinson talks about his research
- Publications
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Books
- FOREWORD: CLIMAX CULTURE.
- Building better societies. Bristol University Press.
- Domestic fortress: Fear and the new home front. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
- House, Home and Society. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Edited books
- Shades of Deviance: A Primer on Crime, Deviance and Social Harm. Routledge.
- Building better societies: Promoting social justice in a world falling apart..
- Shades of deviance: A primer on crime, deviance and social harm. London: Routledge.
- New directions in crime and deviancy. London: Routledge.
- Securing an urban renaissanceCrime, community, and British urban policy. Policy Press.
- Gated Communities: International Perspectives. Taylor and Francis / Routledge.
- Gated Communities: International Perspectives. London: Taylor and Francis.
- Gentrification in a global context: The new urban colonialism. London: Routledge.
Journal articles
- The global urban elite: the sources of wealth and residential networks of the super-rich in 10 cities. Finance and Space, 1(1), 299-317.
- Commanding heights: the role of wealthy 'starchitects' in city remaking. City. View this article in WRRO
- Libertecture: A catalogue of libertarian spaces. Urban Studies.
- Duty Free: Turning the Criminological Spotlight on Special Economic Zones. The British Journal of Criminology, 63(2), 265-282.
- Political economy perspectives and their relevance for contemporary housing studies. Housing Studies.
- Housing, inequality and sociology: a comment on pragmatic socioeconomics. Housing, Theory and Society, 39(2), 147-150.
- Road – gate – enclosure : elite securityscapes in London and Mexico City. Journal of Urban Design, 27(3), 328-347.
- The entangled city: crime as urban fabric in Sao Paulo. Housing Studies, 35(8), 1489-1491.
- Disorderly cities and the policy-making field: the 1981 English riots and the management of urban decline. British Politics, 15(2), 160-177.
- Anchoring capital in place: the grounded impact of international wealth chains on housing markets in London. Urban Studies, 57(1), 21-38.
- Necrotecture: lifeless dwellings and London's super-rich. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 43(1), 2-13.
- Disconnected: non-users of information communications technologies. Sociological Research Online, 23(3), 553-571.
- Domestic Fortress: Fear and the New Home Front: Response. Urban Studies, 55(2), 483-486.
- Elite Formation, Power and Space in Contemporary London. Theory, Culture & Society, 34(5-6), 179-200.
- Non-state space: the strategic ejection of dangerous and high maintenance urban space. Territory, Politics, Governance, 5(4), 443-458.
- Pleasure Zones and Murder Boxes: Online Pornography and Violent Video Games as Cultural Zones of Exception. British Journal of Criminology, 56(6), 1291-1307.
- Welcome to Pikettyville? Mapping London's Alpha Territories. Sociological Review.
- Limited exposure: Social concealment, mobility and engagement with public space by the super-rich in London. Environment and Planning A.
- Urban policy, city control and social catharsis: The attack on social frailty as therapy. British Journal of Criminology, 55(5), 866-882.
- Losing One’s Place: Narratives of Neighbourhood Change, Market Injustice and Symbolic Displacement. Housing, Theory and Society, 32(4), 373-388.
- Who needs good neighbors?. Environment and Planning A, 47(4), 939-956.
- Ears have walls: The listening body in urban space. Aether, 7, 20-28.
- The ivorine tower in the city: Engaging urban studies afterThe Wire. City, 14(5), 529-544.
- Privatism, Privatisation and Social Distinction in Master-Planned Residential Estates. Urban Policy and Research, 28(4), 391-410.
- Burying Indigeneity: The Spatial Construction of Reality and Aboriginal Australia. Social & Legal Studies, 19(3), 311-330.
- Damned by Place, then by Politics: Spatial Disadvantage and the Housing Policy-research Interface. International Journal of Housing Policy, 10(2), 155-171.
- The politics of knowing: Spatial isolation, disconnection and social withdrawal. Geografiska Annaler, Series B: Human Geography, 91(4), 299-310.
- Transparent cities: Re‐shaping the urban experience through interactive video game simulation. City, 13(4), 403-417.
- Gated Communities - Edited by Rowland Atkinson & Sarah Blandy. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 100(3), 370-371.
- The consequences of the creative class: The pursuit of creativity strategies in australia's cities. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 33(1), 64-79.
- Home and away from home: the urban-regional dynamics of second home ownership in Australia. Urban Research & Practice, 2(1), 1-17.
- A Picture of the Floating World: Grounding the Secessionary Affluence of the Residential Cruise Liner. Antipode, 41(1), 92-110.
- Home/Neighbourhood/City/+. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 41(12), 2816-2822.
- Commentary: Gentrification, Segregation and the Vocabulary of Affluent Residential Choice. Urban Studies, 45(12), 2626-2636.
- Housing policies, social mix and community outcomes. AHURI Final Report(122), i-58.
- Special Issue: Theoretical Concerns in Australian Housing and Urban Research. Housing, Theory and Society, 25(3), 157-163.
- The Creative Class <I>in Utero</I>? The Australian City, the Creative Economy and the Role of Higher Education. Built Environment, 34(3), 307-318.
- The Great Cut: The Support for Private Modes of Social Evasion by Public Policy. Social Policy & Administration, 42(6), 593-610.
- Editorial. European Urban and Regional Studies, 14(4), 267-276.
- Book Reviews. Urban Studies, 44(8), 1619-1629.
- Ecology of Sound: The Sonic Order of Urban Space. Urban Studies, 44(10), 1905-1917.
- Panic rooms: The rise of defensive homeownership. Housing Studies, 22(4), 443-458.
- Book Reviews. Journal of Urban Design, 12(2), 313-337.
- Affordable housing and planning in Australia Urban 45. Australian Planner, 44(4), 12-13.
- CHARTING THE LUDODROME The mediation of urban and simulated space and rise of theflâneur electronique. Information, Communication & Society, 10(6), 818-845.
- Padding the Bunker: Strategies of Middle-class Disaffiliation and Colonisation in the City. Urban Studies, 43(4), 819-832.
- Do urban regeneration programmes improve public health and reduce health inequalities? A synthesis of the evidence from UK policy and practice (1980-2004). Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60(2), 108-115.
- Giving urban policy its ‘medical’: assessing the place of health in area-based regeneration. Policy & Politics, 34(1), 5-26.
- Gated cities of today?:
Barricaded residential development in England. Town Planning Review, 76(4), 401-422.
- Introduction: International Perspectives on The New Enclavism and the Rise of Gated Communities. Housing Studies, 20(2), 177-186.
- Book Reviews. Urban Studies, 41(3), 697-712.
- ‘Opportunities and Despair, it’s all in there’. Sociology, 38(3), 437-455.
- The evidence on the impact of gentrification: new lessons for the urban renaissance?. European Journal of Housing Policy, 4(1), 107-131.
- Stock Responses to Disorder?. Criminal Justice Matters, 55(1), 10-11.
- Fortress UK? Gated communities, the spatial revolt of the elites and time–space trajectories of segregation. Housing Studies, 19(6), 875-892.
- Sacred cows, rational debates and the politics of the right to buy after devolution. Housing Studies, 19(3), 447-463.
- Order born of chaos? The capacity for informal social control in disempowered and ‘disorganised’ neighbourhoods. Policy & Politics, 32(3), 333-350.
- Introduction: Misunderstood Saviour or Vengeful Wrecker? The Many Meanings and Problems of Gentrification. Urban Studies, 40(12), 2343-2350.
- Domestication by Cappuccino or a Revenge on Urban Space? Control and Empowerment in the Management of Public Spaces. Urban Studies, 40(9), 1829-1843.
- What Makes People Dissatisfied with their Neighbourhoods?. Urban Studies, 39(13), 2413-2438.
- Area effects: what do they mean for British housing and regeneration policy?. European Journal of Housing Policy, 2(2), 147-166.
- Disentangling Area Effects: Evidence from Deprived and Non-deprived Neighbourhoods. Urban Studies, 38(12), 2277-2298.
- Accessing hidden and hard to reach populations: snowball research strategies. Social Research Update, 33.
- Measuring Gentrification and Displacement in Greater London. Urban Studies, 37(1), 149-165.
- Professionalization and displacement in Greater London. Area, 32(3), 287-295.
- . Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 15(4), 307-326.
- Owner-occupation, social mix and neighbourhood impacts. Policy & Politics, 28(1), 93-108.
- Book Reviews. Urban Studies, 36(10), 1819-1831.
- Book Reviews. Urban Studies, 35(12), 2369-2387.
- The new urban frontier; Gentrification and the revanchist city - Smith,N. SCANDINAVIAN HOUSING & PLANNING RESEARCH, 14(2), 93-95.
- Book review. Scandinavian Housing and Planning Research, 14(2), 87-98.
- Book Reviews. Urban Studies, 32(7), 1215-1227.
- PAPERING OVER THE CRACKS - HOUSING CONDITIONS AND THE NATIONS HEALTH - LEATHER,P, MACKINTOSH,S, ROLFE,S. URBAN STUDIES, 32(2), 428-430.
- Invisible fish: The selective (dis)connection of elite Chinese gated community residents from urban public space. Urban Studies.
- Arrive and retreat: London’s ultra-prime apartment blocks as dark urban renaissance. City, 1-17.
- Applying the global wealth chain typology to property purchases in the Liverpool and Merseyside Area. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space.
- Looking for big 'fry': the motives and methods of middle-class international property investors. Urban Studies.
Chapters
- Crime and the home, Research Handbook on Housing, the Home and Society (pp. 284-295). Edward Elgar Publishing
- One Hyde Park: London, UK, 50 Dark Destinations (pp. 299-304). Policy Press
- Tax Evasion, Shades of Deviance (pp. 167-170). Routledge
- Consumption, Shades of Deviance (pp. 183-186). Routledge
- Crime is Not Just for Criminologists, Shades of Deviance (pp. 3-17). Routledge
- Boundaries, fortresses, and home ownership, The Routledge Handbook of Property, Law and Society (pp. 146-155). Routledge
- Conclusion: highs and lows - breaching social and spatial boundaries, HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES (pp. 208-221).
- Segregation and the urban rich: enclaves, networks and mobilities, Handbook of Urban Segregation Edward Elgar Publishing
- FOREWORD: CLIMAX CULTURE, VIDEO GAMES, CRIME AND NEXT-GEN DEVIANCE (pp. XIII-XVII).
- Gated Communities, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (pp. 259-263). Elsevier
- Segregation, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (pp. 119-123). Elsevier
- From edge work to death drive : the pursuit of pleasure and denial of harm in a leisure society In Raymen T & Smith O (Ed.), Deviant Leisure : Criminological Perspectives on Leisure and Harm (pp. 215-236). Palgrave Macmillan (Springer)
- The (in)visibility of riches, urban life and exclusion, Building better societies: Promoting social justice in a world falling apart (pp. 165-178).
- Thinking prosocially (pp. 195-200). Bristol University Press
- Who would not be for society? (pp. 1-12). Bristol University Press
- Minimum City? The Deeper Impacts of the ‘Super-Rich’ on Urban Life, Cities and the Super-Rich (pp. 253-271). Palgrave Macmillan US
- Domestic fortress Fear and the new home front Introduction, DOMESTIC FORTRESS: FEAR AND THE NEW HOME FRONT (pp. 1-+).
- Invasions of privacy, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- Withdraw, defend or destroy, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- A shell for the body and mind, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- The myths and meanings of home security, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- The fortress archipelago, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- Fear, crime and the home, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- Technologies of the defended home, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- Complexes of the domestic fortress, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- Introduction, Domestic Fortress Manchester University Press
- Housing, Class and Spatial Divisions, House, Home and Society (pp. 110-128). Macmillan Education UK
- The Home in a Global Context, House, Home and Society (pp. 140-152). Macmillan Education UK
- Capital city? London’s housing markets and the ‘super-rich’, Handbook on Wealth and the Super-Rich Edward Elgar Publishing
- The Flowing Enclave and the Misanthropy of Networked Affluence, Networked Urbanism: Social Capital in the City (pp. 41-58).
- The Loss of Home, House, Home and Society (pp. 56-71). Macmillan Education UK
- House, Home and Society, House, Home and Society (pp. 1-15). Macmillan Education UK
- Housing, State and Market, House, Home and Society (pp. 97-109). Macmillan Education UK
- Home Economics, House, Home and Society (pp. 83-96). Macmillan Education UK
- Space, Place and Design, House, Home and Society (pp. 129-139). Macmillan Education UK
- Domestic Criminology: Crime, Harm and Victimization in the Home, House, Home and Society (pp. 72-82). Macmillan Education UK
- Conclusion: Houses, Homes and Societies, House, Home and Society (pp. 153-160). Macmillan Education UK
- The Meaning of Home, House, Home and Society (pp. 32-45). Macmillan Education UK
- Theoretical Perspectives on Housing, House, Home and Society (pp. 16-31). Macmillan Education UK
- The Household, Gender and Sexuality, House, Home and Society (pp. 46-55). Macmillan Education UK
- Paedophilia, Shades of Deviance: A Primer on Crime, Deviance and Social Harm (pp. 143-146).
- Stalking and harassment In Atkinson R (Ed.), Shades of Deviance: A Primer on Crime, Deviance and Social Harm (pp. 162-165). London: Routledge.
- Nudity In Atkinson R (Ed.), Shades of Deviance: A Primer on Crime, Deviance and Social Harm (pp. 24-26). London: Routledge.
- Introduction: Shades of deviance, crime and social harm In Atkinson R (Ed.), Shades of Deviance: A Primer on Crime, Deviance and Social Harm (pp. 1-14). London: Routledge.
- Conclusion: Engaging your criminological imagination In Atkinson R (Ed.), Shades of Deviance: A Primer on Crime, Deviance and Social Harm (pp. 241-243). London: Routledge.
- Globalisation and the new urban colonialism, The Gentrification Debates: A Reader (pp. 51-62).
- Globalisation and the new urban colonialism In Brown-Saracino J (Ed.), The Gentrification Debates (pp. 51-70). New York: Routledge.
- Accommodating harm: The domestic home in criminology In Atkinson R & Winlow S (Ed.), New Directions in Crime and Deviancy (pp. 239-251). London: Routledge.
- Introduction In Atkinson R & Winlow S (Ed.), New Directions in Crime and Deviancy (pp. 1-18). London: Routledge.
- Gentrification, International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home (pp. 269-274).
- Domicide, International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home (pp. 415-418).
- Gated Communities/Privatopias, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (pp. 297-301). Elsevier
- Segregation, Urban, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (pp. 76-80). Elsevier
- Gated Communities/Privatopias, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography: Volume 1-12 (pp. V4-297-V4-301).
- Segregation, Urban, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography: Volume 1-12 (pp. V10-76-V10-80).
- The flowing enclave and the misanthropy of networked affluence In Blokland T & Savage M (Ed.), Networked Urbanism: Social Capital in the City (pp. 41-58). Ashgate
- Conclusion: British urbanism at a crossroads, Securing an urban renaissanceCrime, community, and British urban policy (pp. 233-244). Policy Press
- Introduction, Securing an Urban Renaissance: Crime, Community, and British Urban Policy (pp. 1-18).
- Spaces of discipline and control: the compounded citizenship of social renting, Housing, urban governance and anti-social behaviourPerspectives, policy and practice (pp. 100-116). Policy Press
- Mob mentality: the threat to community sustainability from the search for safety, Building on the pastVisions of housing futures (pp. 162-184). Policy Press
- Spaces of discipline and control: The compounded citizenship of social renting, Housing, Urban Governance and Anti-Social Behaviour: Perspectives, Policy and Practice (pp. 99-116).
- Mob-mentality: The threat to community sustainability from the search for safety In Malpass P & Cairncross L (Ed.), Building on the Past: Visions of Housing Futures (pp. 163-184). Bristol: Policy Press.
- Housing and the new spaces of disciplinary control In Flint J (Ed.), Housing, Urban Governance and Anti-social Behaviour Perspectives, Policy and Practice (pp. 91-116). Bristol: Policy Press.
- Neighbourhoods and Poverty: Linking Place and Social Exclusion, Changing Cities (pp. 154-171). Macmillan Education UK
- British neighbourhoods and poverty: linking place and social exclusion In Buck N, Gordon I, Harding A & Turok I (Ed.), Changing Cities: Rethinking Urban Competitiveness, Cohesion and Governance (pp. 154-171). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Introduction In Atkinson R & Bridge G (Ed.), Gentrification in a Global Context (pp. 1-17). London: Routledge.
- Sources of city prosperity and cohesion: the case of Glasgow and Edinburgh (pp. 13-32). Bristol University Press
- Sources of city prosperity and cohesion: the case of Glasgow and Edinburgh, City matters (pp. 13-32). Policy Press
- Sources of city prosperity and cohesion: the case of Glasgow and Edinburgh, City matters (pp. 13-32). Policy Press
- Sources of city prosperity and cohesion: the case of Glasgow and Edinburgh, City mattersCompetitiveness, cohesion and urban governance (pp. 12-31). Policy Press
Book reviews
- Book review: Globalised Minds, Roots in the City: Urban Upper-middle Classes in Europe. Urban Studies, 53(6), 1336-1338.
- Book Review: Space, Urban Politics, and Everyday Life: Henri Lefebvre and the U.S. City SchwarzeT. Space, Urban Politics, and Everyday Life: Henri Lefebvre and the U.S. City. Palgrave Macmillan: Cham, 2023$159.99 (PBK).. Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal.
Conference proceedings papers
- Road - gate - enclosure: elite securityscapes in London and Mexico City. JOURNAL OF PLANNING LITERATURE, Vol. 37(4) (pp 650-650)
- Humanity under duress. Humanity Under Duress. Sheffield, 2019 - 2019.
- Defragmenting public space : a guide for policymakers. Defragmenting Public Space: A Guide for Policymakers, 2019 - 2019.
- Loic Wacquant Commentaries. People, Place and Policy, Vol. 10(2) (pp 174-184)
- An economy of false securities? An analysis of murders inside gated residential developments in the United States. Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, Vol. 8(2) (pp 161-172)
- The Social Forces and Politics of Housing Research: Reflections from within the Academy. Housing, Theory and Society, Vol. 26(4) (pp 233-247)
- Between practice, policy and academia: The difficult space of the housing researcher. Reshaping Australasian Housing Research: Refereed Papers and Presentations from the 2nd Australasian Housing Researchers' Conference 2007, AHRC 2007
- Introduction (pp 1-11)
- Second homes in Australia: Charting the growth of holiday homeownership and its community impacts. Australasian Housing Researchers Conference
Reports
- Executive Summary - Low-use homes in rural and coastal areas of the UK: Geography, impact and responses
- Low-use homes in rural and coastal areas of the UK: Geography, impact and responses
- Gentrification and displacement: The household impacts of neighbourhood change
- Housing policies, social mix and community outcomes
Dictionary/encyclopaedia entries
- Gentrification. In International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home Elsevier.
- Gated communities. In International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home Elsevier.
- Domicide. In International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home Elsevier.
- Gated Communities. In International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home.
- Snowball Sampling Sage Publications, Inc..
- Snowball Sampling. In The A to Z of Social Research. London: Sage.
Other
- Do national urban regeneration programmes impact on health and the socio-economic determinants of health? A systematic review of UK regeneration programmes (1980-2004). EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, 15, 119-119.
- FOREWORD: CLIMAX CULTURE.
- Research group
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PhD supervision
I am primary supervisor for the following students:
- Dario Ferrazzi, Crime, criminality and urban space
- Yixin Liu, Gated communities in China
Interested in PhD study?
I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students who have interests in the following areas:
- urban patterns of wealth, inequality and segregation
- crime and disorder
- gated communities