My research interests are in geographic information science, population geography and historical geography. I am particularly interested in geographic inequalities and am currently engaged in ESRC-funded research projects which seek to explore (i) how the population geography of the UK has changed between 1971 and 2011 and (ii) the lived experience of inequalities in South Africa. I am also undertaking research on historic maps, with a focus on map lineages; this work considers how far manuscript and printed maps borrow from previous maps or provide evidence of cartographic innovation. These research themes are connected by common methodological problems and solutions and I have published widely on spatial statistical analysis. I am author or co-author of seven books including the third edition of 'Principles of Geographical Information Systems' (with Peter Burrough and Rachael McDonnell; published by Oxford University Press in 2015).

I am interested in the conceptualisation and measurement of geographic inequalities and residential segregation, and I am also engaged in analyses of distortion in historic maps. I have been principal or co-investigator on projects funded by the AHRC, ESRC, EPSRC, NERC, Leverhulme Trust, British Academy, Department for Employment and Learning (Northern Ireland) and the Woodland Trust.