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What is your role and what does it involve?Ìý

I’m a Professor atÌýthe Bartlett School of Planning.ÌýI generally teach in the field of ‘housing’ – specifically the role that planning plays in supporting housing delivery. My research is broadly in the same area, but looks more specifically at affordable housing for rural communities. So, teaching and research, with a smattering of collaboration with policy groups.Ìý

How long have you been at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº and what was your previous role?Ìý

I joinedÌýin the autumn of 1999, so it’s getting on toÌý24 years at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. I spent eightÌýof those 24 years as Head of School. Prior to coming to ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº, I worked in Manchester and Cardiff.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?Ìý

Surviving eightÌýyears as Head of School has to be up there, but I’m also proud of my workÌýconducting policy-focused research in partnership with housing providers. There is huge benefit to be had from exposure to everyday practice – for researchers and for their students. Being involved with Grand ChallengesÌýfor the last sevenÌýyears has been a highlight too, and I also recently became co-chair of the Justice andÌýEquality Working Group. It’s a great way to build connections across ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº and beyond. Ìý

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do listÌý

We’re working with a network of housing associations and national policy/interest groups on ‘what works’ in the delivery of Rural Exception Sites. In a nutshell: affordable homes are really important for rural communities; homes are less affordable where there are many demands on the available stock, and too few homes available to absorb those demands. Allowing housing associations (now called ‘registered providers’) to build rented homes on land where market homes for sale wouldn’t be allowed is a way to cut land costs, and therefore reduce total development costs –ÌýmakingÌýrents affordable. There are complexities in this, and barriers to delivery. Our research, some of which is featured in the Grand Challenges exhibition currently on display in the Cloisters, tries to unpack these complexities, allowing us to contribute insights into good practice in rural housing provision. Finishing this work, and hopefully moving on to similar projects that impact policy and practice, is top of my to-do list. Ìý Ìý

What is your favourite album, film and novel?

Film has to be Withnail and I.ÌýIt's perfect for a researcher working on rural areas (‘I’m in a park and I’m practically dead – what good’s the countryside?’). ÌýI split my album listening between things I really like (anything by Rino Gaetano) and the albums my younger daughter re-introduces me to from TikTok (anything by AC/DC or Aerosmith). The novel that springs to mind is John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids – remember the scene of survivors trying to organise themselves outside Senate House?

What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?

The one about the polar bear entering a bar and the later comment about the ‘long paws’.ÌýIt has to be verbalised and doesn’t work on paper.Ìý

Who would be your dream dinner guests?Ìý

Given that my favourite topics are places I like, wines I’ve drunk, and 101 ways to cook various stuff, it would have to be Stanley Tucci (‘Searching for Italy?’), well-behaved versions of my daughters (who’d remember Tucci from The Hunger Games), and miscellaneous Sardinian guests who share my wine and food passions. ÌýMy wife says she’d like to come too.Ìý

What advice would you give your younger self?Ìý

It’s a marathon and not a sprint, which is the advice I give to my daughters.

What would it surprise people to know about you?Ìý

Home working allows me to slow roast tonight’s dinner in the background. It’s the only plus of hybrid working I can think of. My passion for cooking might surprise a few people…Ìý

What is your favourite place? ÌýÌý

Cabras, in Sardinia. The greatest place on the planet (do I need to give reasons?).ÌýI perhaps should say that my wife is Sardinian and from nearby Oristano.