Julian Dobson

About

Julian joined CRESR as senior research fellow in 2020. With a previous career in journalism and consultancy before moving into academia, he has given evidence to parliamentary inquiries, written for a wide range of academic and general audiences, and spoken at national and international conferences. He is author or editor of four books including How to Save Our Town Centres (Policy Press, 2015) and Reframing the Civic University (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) and was the founding editor of the regeneration magazine New Start. His PhD at CRESR focused on institutional change and sustainability transitions.

Research interests

Place, policy and community: I am interested in urban settlements and how they can be more socially just, sustainable and inclusive. Building on previous work on the future of town centres and high streets, I am leading development of the High Streets Research Network at Sheffield Hallam University and have worked with Power to Change on research related to their 'Take Back the High Street' campaign.

I have also researched the benefits of public urban green spaces, working with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Health Foundation and as part of the Improving Wellbeing through Urban Nature project at the University of Sheffield. Most recently I was part of the team evaluating the national Green Social Prescribing pilots.

Institutional and societal change: I am interested in how and why change happens, or fails to happen. I have led work to develop a Civic Impact Framework to assess the difference universities make within their communities, and am currently part of the team developing the National Civic Impact Accelerator programme. My PhD focused on the role of urban 'anchor institutions' in advancing transitions to a low-carbon society. Evidence, policy and practice: My professional history in journalism, consultancy, and current academic research, bridges the worlds of academia, policy and practice. I am constantly seeking both to understand and to question conventional understandings of how these links work.

Research

Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research

Current research projects

Please contact me for further details about these research projects and for summaries of the findings.

2023-2024 High Streets Research Network, Sheffield Hallam University. Role: Project Director.

2022-2026 National Civic Impact Accelerator, Research England. Role: Member of the research team.

2022-2023 Community Improvement Districts: learning and policy recommendations, Power to Change. Role: Project Director.

2021-22 Organisations supporting community control and decision-making, Local Trust. Role: Project Director.

2019-22 Future Parks Accelerator evaluation, National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Trust. Role: member of the research team.

2019-22 Evaluation of market development, Power to Change. Role: member of the research team.

2019-20 Public space for public good, evidence review and scoping study, Health Foundation. Role: member of the research team.

2019-20 Parks for People evaluation and evidence review, National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Community Fund. Role: member of the research team.

Publications

Journal articles

Dobson, J. (2022). Boosterism and belonging: ‘pride in place’ and the levelling-up agenda. People, Place and Policy Online, 16 (2), 170-176. http://doi.org/10.3351/ppp.2022.2679785798

Dobson, J., Gore, T., Graham, K., & Swade, K. (2021). Paradise Regained? Localised and Limited Nature Connexions in the UK's Covid-19 Lockdown. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 3. http://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2021.708209

Dobson, J. (2021). Wellbeing and blue-green space in post-pandemic cities: drivers, debates and departures. Geography compass. http://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12593

Dempsey, N., & Dobson, J. (2021). Planning for sociable green spaces after COVID-19. Town Planning Review, 92 (2), 171-179. http://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2020.84

Dobson, J., & Dempsey, N. (2021). Known but not done: how logics of inaction limit the benefits of urban green spaces. Landscape Research, 1-13. http://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2020.1864819

Dobson, J., Birch, J., Brindley, P., Henneberry, J., McEwan, K., Mears, M., ... Jorgensen, A. (2021). The magic of the mundane: The vulnerable web of connections between urban nature and wellbeing. Cities, 108, 102989. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102989

Richardson, M., Dobson, J., Abson, D.J., Lumber, R., Hunt, A., Young, R., & Moorhouse, B. (2020). Applying the pathways to nature connectedness at a societal scale: a leverage points perspective. Ecosystems and People, 16 (1), 387-401. http://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2020.1844296

Dobson, J., & Dempsey, N. (2020). Why practice doesn't make perfect. . http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44480-8_1

Dobson, J., & Dempsey, N. (2020). Mind the gap: Does what we know about greenspace and wellbeing change what we do? . http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44480-8_7

Dempsey, N., & Dobson, J. (2020). Realigning knowing and doing: An agenda for reflection and action. . http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44480-8_9

Dobson, J. (2020). A part and yet apart: how third sector visions of carbon reduction are both welcomed and marginalised. Voluntary Sector Review, 11 (2), 187-204. http://doi.org/10.1332/204080519x15756858754217

Dempsey, N., & Dobson, J. (2020). Preface. Cities and Nature, Part F334, ix.

Dobson, J., & Dempsey, N. (2019). Working out what works: The role of tacit knowledge where urban greenspace research, policy and practice intersect. Sustainability, 11 (18), 5029. http://doi.org/10.3390/su11185029

DOBSON, J. (2019). Book Review. Town Planning Review, 90 (3), 327-328. http://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2019.22

Dobson, J. (2018). The Battle for the High Street: Retail Gentrification, Class and Disgust. TOWN PLANNING REVIEW, 89 (2), 204-205.

Dobson, J. (2018). From contest to context: urban green space and public policy. People, Place and Policy Online, 12 (2), 72-83. http://doi.org/10.3351/ppp.2018.3824435278

Dobson, J. (2018). Reinterpreting urban institutions for sustainability: How epistemic networks shape knowledge and logics. Environmental Science & Policy, 92, 133-140. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.11.018

Dobson, J. (2017). Cities That Think Like Planets: Complexity, Resilience, and Innovation in Hybrid Ecosystems (Book Review). Town Planning Review, 88 (3), 381-382. http://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2017.24

Dobson, J. (2017). From ‘me towns’ to ‘we towns’: activist citizenship in UK town centres. Citizenship Studies, 21 (8), 1015-1033. http://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2017.1380605

Dobson, J. (2016). Book Review - The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy. People Place and Policy Online, 10 (3), 257-259. http://doi.org/10.3351/ppp.0010.0003.0007

Dobson, J. (2016). Rethinking town centre economies: Beyond the ‘place or people’ binary. Local Economy, 31 (3), 335-343. http://doi.org/10.1177/0269094216640472

Dobson, J. (2015). Britain’s town centres: From resilience to transition. Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, 8 (4), 347-355. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/hsp/jurr/2015/00000008/00000004/art00005

Dobson, J. (2015). Achieving food equity : Access to good local food for all. Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, 8 (2), 122-132. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/hsp/jurr/2015/00000008/00000002/art00003

Dobson, J. (2013). High Street Regeneration: Rebranding Pushing portas further: Life beyond the butcher, baker and candlestick maker. Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, 6 (2), 112-121.

Dobson, J. (2008). What Happens to the Best-laid Plans? Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 23 (4), 261-266. http://doi.org/10.1080/02690940802407963

Book chapters

Dobson, J., & Ferrari, E. (2023). Bringing Civic Impact to Life. In Rethinking University-Community Policy Connections. (pp. 163-173). Springer International Publishing: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17686-9_9

Udall, J., & Wakeford Holder, A. (2023). Placemaking and the civic university: interface sites as spaces of tension and translation. In Dobson, J., & Ferrari, E. (Eds.) Reframing the Civic University. An agenda for impact. (pp. 143-162). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17686-9_8

Dobson, J., & Ferrari, E. (2023). Why the time is right for a civic turn. In Dobson, J., & Ferrari, E. (Eds.) Rethinking University-Community Policy Connections. (pp. 1-24). Springer International Publishing: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17686-9_1

Dobson, J. (2022). Public realm. In The Future of the City Centre. (pp. 134-149). Routledge: http://doi.org/10.4324/9781003141198-12

Dobson, J. (2016). From Crown to commons? In Sustainable Regeneration of Former Military Sites. (pp. 19-31). Routledge: http://doi.org/10.4324/9781315621784-2