Newcastle University

Roles and Responsibilities

Director, Global Urban Research Unit

Qualifications

PhD: The Politics of Paradigmatic Policy Change and the Greening of UK Transport Planning, Department of Geography, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Postgraduate Diploma, City and Regional Planning. University of Wales College of Cardiff.

BSc(Hons) Town Planning Studies, University of Wales College of Cardiff

Research Interests

Geoff’s research focuses on the following overlapping elements:
- the politics of mobility, transport policy and infrastructure supply
- spatial strategy-making
- planning professionalism and ethics
- media representations of planning and transport issues

Current Work

1. Looking at ideas of innovation in planning, in part funded by the project, 'Spatial Planning, Innovation, Design and User Involvement (SPINDUS)': funded by IWT, Dec. 2009- Nov. 2013, which also explores concepts of spatial quality in planning practices.

2. Writing up work looking at media representations of planning issues.

3. Exploring the implications of localism for English planning, focusing on justice concerns in particular. This entails acting as ciritical friend to a Neighbourhood Planning Frontrunner in Northumberland funded by the Catherine Cookson Trust.

4. Working on the ESPON TANGO project pursuing ideas of 'good' territorial governance.

Research Roles

Director of Global Urban Research Unit

Postgraduate Supervision

Geoff welcomes applications for post-graduate study that mesh with his research interests. To date he has supervised 8 PhD candidates to completion, and currently supervises 5 others:

- Chandrima Mukhopadhyay, 'Public Private Partnerships in Indian Highway Development' (with Simin Davoudi)

- Felix Ogele, Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria (with Paola Gazzola)

- Friday Ogwu, 'Planning and Petroleum Pipelines in the Niger Delta: an environmental justice approach' (with Graham Tipple). Corrections to thesis submitted.

- Rhona Pringle, 'Energy Self-Sufficiency in Smaller Settlements' (with Neil Powe)

- Hiroshi Saito, ‘Spatial Planning as Regeneration Strategy’.

Projects

• Integrated Spatial Planning, multi-level governance and state rescaling
  Project Leader(s): Dr Geoff Vigar
• Review of Transport Governance in the Tyne & Wear City Region
  Project Leader(s): Geoff Vigar
  To prepare proposals for improvements in the arrangements for governance of local transport within the Tyne-Wear city region.
• Social Platform on Cities and Social Cohesion (Social Polis)
  Project Leader(s): Prof. Jean Hillier; Prof. Frank Moulaert
• Spatial Innovation, Planning, Design and User Involvement (SPINDUS)
  Project Leader(s): Dr Geoff Vigar
• Territorial Governance - Best Practices for New Perspectives (TANGO)
  Project Leader(s): Professor Simin Davoudi
• The Changing Nature of Professionalism in Spatial Planning
  Project Leader(s): Geoff Vigar
• The Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Planning
  Project Leader(s): Professor Simin Davoudi

Undergraduate Teaching

TCP 2023 Understanding Sustainable Development

TCP3049 Spatial Strategy-Making

TCP 3050 Planning Strategies into Action

Postgraduate Teaching

TCP 8902 The Reflexive Practitioner

TCP8910 Sustainable Communities 

• Vigar G. Planning and Professionalism: Knowledge, Judgement and Expertise in English Planning. Planning Theory 2012, 11(3). In Press.
• Miciukiewicz K, Vigar G. Mobility and social cohesion in the splintered city: challenging technocentric transport research and policy-making practices. Urban Studies 2012, 49(9). In Press.
• Gunn S, Vigar G. Reform processes and professional discretionary space in English planning practice. Town Planning Review 2012. Submitted.
• Miciukiewicz K, Vigar G. Encounters in motion: considerations of time and social justice in urban mobility research. In: Henckel, D., Könecke, B., Stabilini, S., Thomaier, S., & Zedda, R, ed. Space-Time Design of the Public City. Amsterdam: Springer, 2012. In Press.
• Vigar G, Shaw A, Swann R. Selling sustainable mobility: The reporting of the Manchester Transport Innovation Fund bid in UK media. Transport Policy 2011, 18(2), 468-479.
• Haughton G, Allmendinger P, Counsell D, Vigar G. The New Spatial Planning: Territorial Management with Soft Spaces and Fuzzy Boundaries. London: Routledge, 2010.
• Gonzalez S, Vigar G. The Ouseburn Trust in Newcastle: a struggle to innovate in the context of a weak local state. In: Moulaert, F; Swyngedouw, E; Martinelli, F; Gonzalez, S, ed. Can Neighbourhoods Save the City? Social Innovation and Local Community Development. London: Routledge, 2010, pp. 128-140.
• Davoudi S, Healey P, Vigar G, Majale M. The Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Planning. In: UN Habitat, ed. Planning Sustainable Cities. London: Earthscan, 2009.
• Vigar G. Towards an Integrated Spatial Planning?. European Planning Studies 2009, 17(11), 1571-1590.
• Gonzalez S, Vigar G. Community influence and the contemporary local state: potentials and contradictions in the neo-liberal city. City: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action 2008, 12(1), 64-78.
• MacKinnon D, Vigar G. Devolution and the UK's new transport policy landscape. In: Docherty I; Shaw J, ed. Traffic Jam: Ten Years of 'Sustainable' Transport in the UK. Bristol: Policy Press, 2008, pp. 29-48.
• Haughton G, Counsell D, Vigar G. Sustainable Development in Post-Devolution UK and Ireland. Regional Studies 2008, 42(9), 1223-1236.
• Benneworth P, Vigar G. Strategic Planning in Practice: the case of North East England. In: Dimitriou HT, Thomson R, ed. Strategic and Regional Planning: a review of principles and practices. London: Spon, 2007.
• Vigar G. Transport and mobility in the English market town. In: Powe, N; Hart, T; Shaw, T, ed. Market Towns: Roles, Challenges and Prospects. London: Routledge, 2007, pp. 59-68.
• Vigar G. Deliberation, participation and learning in the development of regional strategies: Transport policy making in North East England. Planning Theory and Practice 2006, 7(3), 267-287.
• Vigar G. Modernising Transport Planning in the English Regions. In:Allmendinger, P., Tewdwr-Jones, M., ed. Territory, Identity and Spatial Planning.London:Routledge,2006, pp. 205-218.
• Vigar G, Graham S, Healey P. In search of the city in spatial strategies: Past legacies, future imaginings. Urban Studies 2005, 42(8), 1391-1410.
• Vigar G, Porter G. Regional Governance and Strategic Transport Policy: the case of North East England. European Spatial Research and Policy 2005,12 1 .
• Haggett C, Vigar G. Tilting at Windmills? Understanding Opposition to Windfarm Applications. Town and Country Planning 2004, 73(10), 288-291.
• Vigar G, Stead D. Local transport planning under new Labour. In: Dohert, I., Shaw, J, ed. A New Deal for Transport: The UK's Struggle with the Sustainable Transport Agenda. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003, pp.51-72.
• Counsell D, Haughton GF, Allmendinger P, Vigar G. New Directions in UK strategic planning: from development plans to spatial development strategies. Town and Country Planning 2003, 72(1), 15-19.
• Porter G, Vigar G. Governance, accountability and responsibility in constructing strategic transport policy, a case study from North East England. Northern Economic Review 2003.
• Vigar G, Healey P. Developing environmentally respectful policy programmes: Five key principles. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 2002, 45(4), 517-532.
• Vigar G. The Politics of Mobility: Transport, the environment and public policy. London: Spon Press, 2002.
• Vigar G. Reappraising UK transport policy 1950-99: The myth of 'mono-modality' and the nature of 'paradigm shifts'. Planning Perspectives 2001, 16(3), 269-291.
• Hull AD, Vigar G. Structures and Processes in Strategic Spatial Plan Preparation: the participatory agenda. In: Madanipour, A; Hull, AD; Healey, P, ed. The Governance of Place. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001.
• Vigar GI, Healey P, Hull A, Davoudi S. Planning, Governance and Spatial Strategy in Britain: an institutionalist analysis. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000.
• Vigar G. Local 'Barriers' to environmentally sustainable transport planning. Local Environment 2000, 5(1), 19-32.
• Vigar G, Steele M, Healey P, Nelson JD, Wenban Smith A. Transport Planning and Metropolitan Governance: institutional issues in implementing a new agenda for transport planning. London: Landor, 2000.
• Vigar G. Implementing transport's 'new realism'?: The dissemination of demand-management policies in UK transport planning. Town Planning Review 2001, 72(4), 423-443.
• Vigar GI, Healey P. Territorial Integration and ‘Plan-Led’ Planning. Planning Practice and Research 1999, 14(2), 153-169.