Nancy joined the Department of Geography and Environment in August 2008 having previously managed the MSc in Housing and Regeneration in the Department of Social Policy, also at the London School of Economics and Political Science. A planner by training, she has a PhD in Urban Policy (University of Portsmouth, 1999) and an MSc in Community and Regional Planning (University of Texas, 1996). Her work deals primarily with issues of governance and local planning including sustainable development and community participation. She has often used social network analysis to explore the complex relationships in the multi-level, multi-actor partnerships present in modern governing arrangements.
Research affiliation
LSE London, Member - LSE London is the London School of Economics' specialist research unit focusing on analyses of London's economy and broader metropolitan issues in a comparative context. The unit has a strong international reputation particularly in the fields of labour markets, social and demographic change, housing, finance and governance, and is the leading academic centre for analyses of city-wide developments in London. It is an interdisciplinary group involving staff from a number of departments who have particular expertise in economics, geography, government and planning.
Research interests
Conservation Policy: Urban conservation policy is a strong theme in my current research. Along with a colleague at the LSE, I have completed a large-scale analysis of conservation areas in England. This has included a spatial hedonic analysis of more than 1million property transactions in 8,000 conservation areas in England and a qualitative analysis of more than 48 conservation areas in London. Our preliminary findings suggest that positive heritage externalities exist and that residents in CAs tend to value their local environments, acknowledge the need for planning control and execute their right to object to neighbour’s planning request. A series of publications have and are following on from this research. In addition, with colleagues at LSE London, I have applied for a large Urban Europe grant to examine how the value of heritage can be maintained in challenging economic conditions.
Urban Housing and Planning in London: My work here has dealt with the manner in which urban regime theory might help us understand politics and planning in the UK context. I have recently undertaken research looking at the Localism Act using social capital to examine what the key dilemmas may be for localist planning. I have also completed work on the politics of suburbia in London and have examined housing density policy in the Capital. Alongside colleagues in LSE London I have recently received £99,110 from the Higher Education Innovation Funding initiative to help us disseminate and exchange knowledge around our research on the Housing crisis in London.
Get to know Nancy a little more through our Spotlight series