Dr Richard Waldron is a Lecturer in Spatial Planning in the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen's University Belfast. His research interests relate to the intersection of urban planning policy, housing markets and strategies of urban economic development. His doctoral research (2014) examined the social and economic consequences of the Irish property market collapse and mortgage arrears crisis. His work has been published in leading international, peer-reviewed journals, including GeoForum, Housing Studies, the International Journal of Housing Policy and Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie. Richard holds a  Bachelor of Arts (Geography and Archaeology) and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from University College Dublin. He is a full corporate member of the Irish Planning Institute. He has presented his work at numerous international conferences and has forged close linkages with a number of important research networks in the fields of housing and urban planning. He has provided consultancy services to the Irish Housing Agency and Dublin City Council and is an article reviewer for the journals Urban Studies, Urban Studies Research and the International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis.

Dr Waldron's  research investigates the interaction between the urban planning system and private market forces in the built environment, with a particular focus on housing. Richard is particularly interested in understanding the linkages between urban planning and housing policy and the deepening relationship between the financial system, the development sector and the state. This work is driven by interests in the fields of urban political economy, critical housing studies, financialisation and socio-spatial inequality. In this regard, my work spans a number of inter-related themes:

Financialization and the City

A burgeoning literature demonstrates how the inter-dependent relationship between the financial and real estate sectors has intensified boom-bust dynamics within urban property markets, often leading to disastrous social, economic and political impacts. Dr Waldron's work explores (1) How property markets are being reshaped in countries affected by the impacts of the financial crisis and the political economy implications; (2) How existing planning systems and policies are being reconfigured in response to the property market crash; and (3) How financial technologies, rationalities and modelling approaches are being applied within the State’s econmic and planning decision making apparatus. This body of work is funded by the Urban Studies Foundation.

Neoliberalization of housing and urban planning

This aspect of Dr Waldron's research is concerned with the role of housing in the circulation and accumulation of capital and processes of commodification, deregulation and financialisation within housing markets. Richard is particularly concerned with the adoption of neoliberal policy prescriptions within housing, urban planning and banking systems and the effects arising from the creation of highly leveraged forms of mortgage financed homeownership. This research strand is underpinned by his doctoral research, which examined the drivers and social consequences of the Irish property market crash and mortgage arrears crisis and the response of policymakers and the banking sector. This work has been published in high impact journals, including ‘GeoForum,’ Housing Studies’ and the ‘International Journal of Housing Policy.’ More recently, Dr Waldron's work has focused on the dramatic rise in homelessness that has accompanied the crisis in affordable housing supply. This work is supported through an on-going research partnership with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive.

Built Heritage Policy and Practice

This research examines the purpose and role of built heritage in public policy making and urban management strategies, particularly the intersection between strategies for heritage promotion and wider economic strategies for place-promotion and economic diversification. Issues of conflict over the commercialisation of built heritage, the promotion of service economies around built heritage and tourism development in urban historic cores are key research topics. This aspect of Dr Waldron's research is reflected in his involvement on the JPI funded Sustainable Historic Urban Cores (SHUC) project; a collaborative network of researchers with a common interest in changing practices in urban planning and management of historic cities. 

Dr Waldron is currently the module coordinator for the following: