Newcastle University

Tim Townshend was recruited to academia from practice in 1993. He is a Senior Lecturer in urban design and a member of the Global Urban Research Unit (GURU). He was appointed Director of Planning and Urban Design, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape in August 2008, his role is deputy head of school and he is responsible for the day to day management of the planning/urban design disciplines.

Tim has developed a national/international profile in his urban design research. He has published on a wide range of topics addressing the impact of the design of the built environment in addressing contemporary social concerns, in particular, heritage and social inclusion; fear of crime; sustainable neighbourhoods; and most recently linking health and built environment. He is currently working on interdisciplinary research on health and built environment. Part of this work is the subject of a major new edited volume, Obesogenic Environments: Complexities, Perceptions and Objective Measures with contributions from authors in USA, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and UK. He is also currently undertaking a 18 month project funded by JRF which is investigating the influence of location-based factors in youth drinking behaviours and further is developing work on allotments which will be the subject of an application to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Tim's work always attempts to maximise its impact and as such is always policy relevant. He has been a consultant on a series of national reports and policy documents and sits on a number of external committees and panels. He is a co-founding member of the North East Obesogenic Environment Network (NEOeN) www.neoen.org.uk.

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Research Interests

Urban design and the public realm; the design of sustainable and healthy neighbourhoods; urban design and gay space development.

Other Expertise

Conservation of the cultural built heritage

Postgraduate Supervision

Tim Townshend currently has 5 PhD students

Esteem Indicators

I was invited as a consultee to the following national projects
1) Sustainable Construction and Planning Project undertaken by LSE and funded by Higher Education Council, 2006.
2) Sport England's 'Active Design' Project 2005-6

I have been an invited speaker at the following:
1) The Sustainable Planning and Development Conference, Sept. 2005, Bologna
2) Keynote speaker at Federation of Housing Associations confernce, Galsgow, October 2006.
3) Herriot-Watt public seminar series on Planning October 2006.

I have reviewed articles for a number of international journals including:
Planning Theory and Practice
Urban Policy and Research
Journal of Urban Design
Journal of Planning and Environmental Management
Landscape Research

Memberhsip of committees etc.

national

Member of the Urban Design Group Education Panel since 1997.

At local/regional level:
I have been a member of Newcastle City Council's 'Planning City Working Group' advisory panel since 2005
A member of Newcastle's PFI Library Design Panel 2005 onwards
Panel member for Newcastle City Council's Lord Mayors Design Awards 2001, 2003, 2005
Panel Member for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council Design Awards

Undergraduate Teaching

TCP1018 Design Awareness and Communication
TCP3024 Urban Design Option

Postgraduate Teaching

TCP8091 Principles and Practice of Urban Design
TCP8912 Urban Design and Conservation Project
ARC8045 Urban Design Project 1
ARC8063 Urban Design Project 2
ARC8065 European Study Visit

• Townshend TG, Lake AA. Relationships between ‘Wellness Centre’ use, the surrounding built environment and obesogenic behaviours, Sunderland, UK. Journal of Urban Design 2011, 16(3), 351-367.
• Lake AA, Townshend TG, Alvanides S, ed. Obesogenic Environments: complexities, perceptions and objective measures. London, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2010.
• Townshend TG, Ells L, Alvanides S, Lake AA. Towards transdisciplinary approaches to tackle obesity. In: Lake, AA; Townshend, T; Alvanides, S, ed. Obesogenic Environments: complexities, perceptions and objective measures. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
• Alvanides S, Townshend TG, Lake AA. Obesogenic environments: challenges and opportunities. In: Lake, AA; Townshend, TG; Alvanides, S, ed. Obesogenic Environments. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, pp.215-219.
• Townshend TG. What role can urban planning and transportation policy play in the prevention of obesity?. In: Crawford, D; Jeffery, RW.; Ball, K; Brug, J, ed. Obesity Epidemiology: from aetiology to public health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
• Townshend T, Lake AA. Obesogenic urban form: Theory, policy and practice. Health & Place 2009, 15(4), 909-916.
• Lake AA, Townshend T, Alvanides S, Stamp E, Adamson AJ. Diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and perceptions of the environment in young adults. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 2009, 22(5), 444-454.
• Pendlebury J, Townshend TG, Gilroy RC. Social Housing as Heritage: The Case of Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne. In: Gibson L; Pendlebury J, ed. Valuing Historic Environments. Farnham: Ashgate, 2009, pp.179-200.
• Gilroy R, Pendlebury J, Townshend T. Making Better Places Through Heritage Designation? The Byker Estate, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. DOCOMOMO Journal 2008, 39, 59-63.
• Townshend TG, Madanipour A. Public space and local diversity: The case of north east England. Journal of Urban Design 2008, 13(3), 317-328.
• Townshend T. Why aren't we building more sustainable residential neighbourhoods in the UK?. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning 2007, 2(2), 222-238.
• Townshend T, Lake AA. Sustainable and Healthy Urban Form: linking well-being, obesity and the built environment. In: Babalis D, ed. Ecopolis: Conceptualising and Defining Sustainable Design. Florence: Alinea, 2007.
• Townshend T, Lake AA. Warning Sloburbia! Does where you live affect your waistline and your health?. Town and Country Planning 2007, 76(2), 62-63.
• Townshend T. From inner city to inner suburb? Addressing housing aspirations in low demand areas in NewcastleGateshead, UK. Housing Studies 2006, 21(4), 501-521.
• Lake AA, Townshend T. Obesogenic environments: exploring the built and food environments. Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 2006, 126(6), 262-267.
• Townshend T, Alderson P. The sustainable housing challenge: a view from providers. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2005. Electronic Working Documents.
• Townshend T, Gilroy RC, Pendlebury JR. The conservation of English cultural built heritage: a force for social inclusion?. International Journal of Heritage Studies 2004, 10(1), 11-31.
• Townshend T. Transforming landscapes of abandonment: changing perception in low demand housing areas in Newcastle Gateshead, U.K. In: Sustainable Development and Planning. 2005, Bologna, Italy: WIT Press.
• Larkham P, Pendlebury J, Townshend T. Public Involvement in Residential Conservation Planning: Values Attitudes and Future Directions. In: Rydin, Y., Thornley, T, ed. Planning in the UK: Agendas for the New Millennium. Ashgate: Aldershot, 2002, pp.237-256.
• Pain R, Townshend T. A safer city centre for all? Senses of 'community safety' in Newcastle upon Tyne. Geoforum 2002, 33(1), 105-119.
• Townshend T, Madanipour A. Urban design in the planning system. In: Greed, C; Roberts, M, ed. Approaching Urban Design: The Design Process. Harlow: Longman Pearson Education, 2001, pp.132-40.
• Townshend T. But Would You Live Here? Researching attitudes towards Newcastle upon Tyne's urban area. In: Urban Lifestyles: Spaces, Places, People: Proceedings of an international conference on cities in the new millennium. 2000, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: A A Balkema.
• Townshend TG. But Would You Live Here? Researching attitudes towards Newcastle upon Tyne's urban area. In: Benson, J.F. & Roe, M.H, ed. Urban Lifestyles: Spaces, Places, People. Rotterdam, Brookfield: A.A. Balkema, 2000, pp.221-228.
• Lake AA, Townshend TG. Exploring the built environment, physical activity and related behaviours of young adults attending school, college and those not in employment. Journal of Public Health 2012, (epub ahead of print).
• Townshend T, Pendlebury J. Public Participation in the Conservation of Historic Areas: Case-studies from North-east England. Journal of Urban Design 1999, 4(3), 313-331.
• Townshend TG, Pendlebury J. The Conservation of Historic Areas and Public Participation. Journal of Architectural Conservation 1999, 5(2), 72-87.