I am a Population Geographer. My primary research interests are in internal migration and explaining the reasons why it has fallen in the late 20th Century in some countries but not others. Additionally, I am interested in the psychological, social, cultural, and economic outcomes of changing address and moving around for the communities made up of people who actually move but also for those who stay where they are.  I also work on residential segregation particularly in Northern Ireland.  

I make extensive use of Census and other official statistics in my work and hence have an interest in data quality and dissemination.  I am a member of several advisory groups on official statistics and since 2012 I have been the director of the ESRC-funded Research Support Unit (RSU) for the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS). 

In my undergraduate teaching I contribute to Level 1 and Level 2 modules with Population Geography elements covering topics such as international population statistics, population and development, the analysis of Northern Ireland population data, and Belfast (in international context) as a divided city. 

I have been first or second supervisor for 12 PhD students and I am open to new PhD students who wish to do projects on:

• Internal migration
• Urban change
• Longitudinal analysis using the UK Census Longitudinal Studies