Dr Richard Smith

• Urban Acupuncture in South Wales: Pinprick Solutions for Urban Regeneration? (current)

  PhD

  Other supervisor: Dr Kevin Rees

• NEOM – Lining up a new smart city (current)

  PhD

  Other supervisor: Dr Kevin Rees

• Smart city system practices and the role of governance in the rural development process (current)

  PhD

  Other supervisor: Dr Keith Halfacree

• GEG131 Cities

  There has never been a more exciting time to study cities. Since antiquity cities have been the site of disproportionate amounts of human production and consumption of all kinds, and within the last generation, they have become the places where most people on Earth live. They are also the places of the most pressing social struggles of our time. Cities afford boundless opportunities, but are also the sites of the most stark inequality on the planet. Partly as a result, cities are sites of social, political, and economic struggle, innovation, creativity and deprivation. For at least the last two hundred years, cities, modernity, globalisation, colonisation, and capitalism have been highly dependent upon each other, and as a result, making sense of cities cannot be separated from questions of cultural transformation, global capital, political upheaval, and technological change. This module will introduce you to these and related issues.

• GEG140H Project and Methods (Human Geography)

  This module aims to provide diverse skills in undertaking research. Students will gain experience in methods of data collection in the field for a geographical research question, analysing and interpreting the data obtained, and understanding the limitations of the work. In part 1 of this module, students follow a physical or human geography project option, depending on their geography degree specialism: Part 1: Physical Geography Students following a physical geography-based degree will look at sea-level change and its impacts on communities and ecosystems. During classroom sessions we will consider the causes of sea-level change and how it is measured. We will undertake local visits to explore the potential impacts of sea level on our locality and on our coastal university. We will consider built-up and rural environments and different mitigation policies that may be used. You will apply a technique of Stakeholder Analysis to consider economic and social impacts of sea-level change. Part 1: Human Geography The human geography project focusses on Cities and Photography. Students will investigate the use of photography through three Visual Methodologies: Photo-Documentation, Photo-Elicitation, and Photo-Essays. Students will take part in a photo documentation workshop and group photography fieldwork in Swansea City Centre. They will also complete a photo essay aided by group discussion, to select concept, theme, whether analytical or evocative photographs (or both), and discussion of the links between practice and visual methodologies in literature. Part 2: Field data collection and critical analysis skills. Part 2 of this module is common to all geography degree specialisms. Using data collected by yourselves and other undergraduate students for the field sites, you will learn and apply analysis techniques to interpret the datasets, and become aware of sources of uncertainty and limitations of the data, equipment or field techniques. In doing so, we use the field data and build on skills that students developed earlier in the module, collect new datasets and apply statistical analysis techniques that were learnt in the previous semester to your own data.

• GEG140P Project and Methods (Physical Geography)

  This module aims to provide diverse skills in undertaking research. Students will gain experience in methods of data collection in the field for a geographical research question, analysing and interpreting the data obtained, and understanding the limitations of the work. In part 1 of this module, students follow a physical or human geography project option, depending on their geography degree specialism: Part 1: Physical Geography Students following a physical geography-based degree will look at sea-level change and its impacts on communities and ecosystems. During classroom sessions we will consider the causes of sea-level change and how it is measured. We will undertake local visits to explore the potential impacts of sea level on our locality and on our coastal university. We will consider built-up and rural environments and different mitigation policies that may be used. You will apply a technique of Stakeholder Analysis to consider economic and social impacts of sea-level change. Part 1: Human Geography The human geography project focusses on Cities and Photography. Students will investigate the use of photography through three Visual Methodologies: Photo-Documentation, Photo-Elicitation, and Photo-Essays. Students will take part in a photo documentation workshop and group photography fieldwork in Swansea City Centre. They will also complete a photo essay aided by group discussion, to select concept, theme, whether analytical or evocative photographs (or both), and discussion of the links between practice and visual methodologies in literature. Part 2: Field data collection and critical analysis skills. Part 2 of this module is common to all geography degree specialisms. Using data collected by yourselves and other undergraduate students for the field sites, you will learn and apply analysis techniques to interpret the datasets, and become aware of sources of uncertainty and limitations of the data, equipment or field techniques. In doing so, we use the field data and build on skills that students developed earlier in the module, collect new datasets and apply statistical analysis techniques that were learnt in the previous semester to your own data.

• GEG252V Geographical Fieldwork skills: Vancouver

  The module is concerned with identifying and defining geographical questions within the Vancouver and southern British Columbia context and applying relevant geographical skills, knowledge and techniques to these questions. The general aims are to observe, analyse and achieve an understanding of the varied geographical landscape and inherent features of Vancouver and southern British Columbia. Students taking this module will gain experience in research design, methodologies, data analysis and presentation methods, including seminars, posters and reports. Students taking this field course focus on either the physical or human geography on the region and conduct project work appropriate to their specialism. The module comprises preparatory lectures in Swansea during teaching block 2 and a two-week field course, which typically runs in the last week of teaching block 2 into the first week of the Easter vacation.

• GEG331 Dissertation Report: Geography

  The dissertation is an original, substantive and independent research project in an aspect of Geography. The dissertation research project is based on 20 - 25 days of primary research (e.g fieldwork, lab work, archive work) and several months of analysis and write-up. The end result must be less than 10,000 words of text. The dissertation offers you the chance to follow your personal interests and to demonstrate your capabilities as a Geographer. During the course of your dissertation, you will be supported by a peer-led discussion group and a staff supervisor. Lectures and guidance are delivered via this module and peer and staff led Dissertation Support Groups are delivered via GEG332. Participating in Dissertation Support Groups is vital, and is assessed and, in these groups, students will provide constructive criticism to fellow students undertaking related research projects, learning from their research problems and subsequent solutions. This support and supervision is delivered through GEG332, which is a co- requisite.

• GEG332 Dissertation Support: Geography

  This module provides structured, student-led peer-group support and academic staff group supervision for students undertaking the 30-credit 'Dissertation Report: Geography' module. This support and supervision is assessed through the submission of the Dissertation Outline and the Dissertation Support Group Reflection and Attendance Log. Working within a supervised Student Peer Group, students have the opportunity to provide constructive criticism to fellow students undertaking related research projects, learning from their research problems and subsequent solutions. Group sessions are the main support provision as student¿s work through their Dissertation. This module complements the 'Dissertation Report: Geography' module, which is a co-requisite.

• GEG352 World Cities

  The world's cities are networked together through globalization and consequently demonstrate similar economic, social, cultural, and political characteristics. The module introduces students to a neo-Marxist literature on world and global cities which has attempted to explain that phenomenon by envisioning the global economy as controlled and/or commanded through a few major cities. The step-by-step construction, from 1966 to date, of the neo-Marxist world and global city concepts is detailed, before subsequently introducing students to the world city network, the interlocking world city network model, social network analysis, and a broader quantitative turn in the research field. Finally, the validity of a postcolonial ordinary cities critique of world and global cities is explained and questioned before students are introduced to an alternative poststructuralist inspired approach to understanding cities as networks which not only recasts the conceptual apparatus ¿ boundaries, centrality, network, place, power, scale, space, territory, time ¿ and empirical approach of urban studies, but also effectively critiques and overturns the neo-Marxist world city, global city, interlocking and SNA world city network concepts, to understand cities not only as connected, but as always striving to prohibit and disguise their unbinding and destabilization as networked assemblages.

• GEGM15 Qualitative Research Methods

  This is a ¿hands on¿ module concerned specifically with how to effectively and reflectively ¿do¿ qualitative methods in the social sciences. It complements and builds on similar modules in quantitative approaches and epistemological and ontological frameworks such as CRM02, CRM03, POM32 and EDM18. After two initial lectures situating the contested and shifting notion of ¿the field¿ and relationships between theory and practice, students will engage in a series of hands-on, practical workshops in specific methods. Workshops will be of 3 hours duration each and will include a theoretical element, a practice element and a reflection element. Following each workshop students will be asked to complete a short, 800-word reflection on the applicability of the research method to their discipline and set of research questions. Students will be encouraged in their reflections to consider both the practical and academic aspects of ¿doing¿ each method. The completed reflective portfolio will be handed in at the end of the course for marking. The methods will vary depending on the staff complement teaching the module from year to year, but are very likely to include: ¿ Ethnographic methods and observation ¿ Archival research, oral history and biographical methods. ¿ Organisational research and interviewing elite actors ¿ Questionnaires, interviews and focus groups ¿ Mobile methods ¿ Participatory action research ¿ Textual and online methods.

• GEGM29 Crisis and Global Change

  'Crisis and Global Change' is a compulsory module for the MSc in Society, Environment and Global Change. One part of this module is designed to provide an advanced introduction to key geographical concepts and frameworks for addressing global crises. This includes asking how we approach and understand 'crisis'? How in particular do we develop critical approaches for understanding and evaluating different crises? And at what scale are different crises addressed, by governments as well as various institutions and organisations? We will address how crises impact people and place unevenly, how crises for some are opportunities for others, what moments of crisis reveal about broader dynamics of power, identity, inequality and violence, and finally how crises also present moments for thinking about change in the world around us. The second part of the module is designed to allow students to explore particular urgent issues and debates in more depth. These will change in any given year, and will draw on staff's research expertise. It will include a focus on topics such as: The Pathologies of Global Cities; Financial and Economic Crises and Resilience; the Global Politics of Nationalism; Migration, Race, Memory and Culture; Imagining Climate Change; and Sustainability and the Politics of Place. These topical lectures will give students an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of some global crises, and to consider how crises interconnect. The module will conclude by considering questions about how we respond to crises, looking at the role of cities, communities, artists, civil society and social movements in engaging social change. Overall the module is designed so that students develop advanced frameworks for approaching and understanding the geographies of global crises, and for considering how crises interconnect and impact people and place differently. By the end of the module, students will be able to connect theoretical frameworks with discussion of urgent global issues, and feel confident that they have a wide-ranging understanding of how to address debates around crisis and global change.

• Associate Professor (Reader), Swansea University

  2013 - Present

• Senior Lecturer, Swansea University

  2007 - 2013

• Lecturer, Swansea University

  2006 - 2007

• Lecturer, University of Leicester

  1998 - 2006

• Research Associate, Loughborough University

  1997 - 1998

• Global Cities Today and Tomorrow

  January 2018

  Keynote: Luxury Real Estate Association Annual Meeting, London (Westminster). All expenses paid with speaking fee.

• Baudrillard’s Photographic Theory

  September 2018

  Keynote: Oxford Brookes University (UK). All expenses paid.

• Baudrillard’s Photography

  November 2018

  Keynote: Italy, Rome. MACRO (Museum of Contemporary Art Rome). All expenses paid.

• London After Brexit

  June 2017

  Keynote: All expenses paid invited TEDx Talk at London Sadler’s Wells Theatre (Audience c.2000 people).

• Poststructuralist Global Cities

  2013

  Keynote: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. Invited Public Lecture. All expenses paid.

• Global Cities

  2011

  Keynote: Russia, Kazan. All expenses paid with speaking fee. A four day public city business event (>2000 delegates).

• Urban Ontologies: Importing Actor-Network Theory into Urban Studies

  May 2007

  Keynote: The Center for Metropolitan Studies (CMS), Technical University of Berlin. All expenses paid.

• Inter-city relations within contemporary globalization

  2005

  Keynote: University of Ghent, Belgium. All expenses paid.

• Cyborg Urbanization

  2005

  Keynote: Department of Geography, University College London, UK. All expenses paid.

• World city networks

  2003

  Keynote: ESF Network on Cities as International and Transnational Actors (CITTA), Amsterdam. All expenses paid.

• Globalization reconsidered

  June 2002

  Keynote: 3rd International Conference of Critical Geography (Hungary, 25th to 30th June)

• The Poststructuralist Global City: Unravelling Control in the Global Economy

  March 2017

  Invited Research Seminar at the Université d’Angers (France)

• Global cities and the myth of 'command and control'

  2015

  Invited seminar, Department of Geography, Pontíficia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (Brazil).

Exhibitions

(2019-21) Commissioned essay on 'Fake Truth' for poster book and as the physical wall text for several exhibitions by the BAFTA award-winning artist Alison Jackson (exhibitions held in Stockholm, Tallinn, Vienna, and Los Angeles) [See: Smith RG (2019) ‘Fake Truth’, in Jackson A Fake Truth (Austria OstLicht / Peter Cohen): https://www.ostlicht.org/bookshop/alison-jackson-fake-truth-poster-book]

(September 2018) 'Collecting Baudrillard', 3 Day Exhibition at Oxford Brookes University (Details and Photos of Exhibition)

Talks

(June 2017) ‘London After Brexit’, Invited TEDx Talk London (Live audience of c.1600 people at Sadler Wells Theatre; available on YouTube (>28,000 views))

(2016) ‘Global cities and the unravelling of control’ (Invited visit and Public Lecture at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá))

(2013) ‘Poststructuralist cities’ (Invited visit and Public Lecture at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá))

Television / Interviews / Films

(2020) Swansea Geography Virtual Fieldwork GEG140 (Visual Methods - Urban Photography): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lunp2bfkz50

(2017) 'Swansea University Academic Delivers Speech on London Post-Brexit', BusinessNewsWales (4th July)

(2017) Food and the City (TEDx event, London, June)

(2014) Interviewed for South Korean Television on Jean Baudrillard [Reference: Human and Fashion. Dir. Jung-ok Lee. Dacuprime. EBS, [DVD] Seoul, 1 June. 2015. [인간과 패션. 연출. 이정옥. 다큐프라임, EBS, 서울, 6월 1일. 2015.]

(2013) Interviewed for Colombian Television on Global Cities (Medellín)

Newspapers

(21/12/2021) “The Matrix’s real-world legacy: from red pill incels to conspiracies and deepfakes”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57572152

(21/11/2021) “In a way Newport is a victim of its geography”: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/painful-transformation-wales-once-booming-22140201

(28/02/2021) “Rebuilding Swansea: The painful transformation of our cities, how they will look in a post pandemic future and who they will serve”: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/rebuilding-swansea-painful-transformation-cities-19895240#comments-section

Magazines

(2016) “Favela Painting”, Links Magazine: Chamber of Industry & Commerce Ecuador & Great Britain, p.35 (Special issue UNESCO Habitat III conference, Quito, October): http://www.issuu.com/ciceb

(2016) “London after Brexit: independence a non-starter but special status could protect global position” for theconversation.com, 25-06-2016 (Republished by Yahoo News, Google News, AllJournalist.com)[Second most-read article on The Conversation in June 2016 with 4,394 reads]

• School Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) Lead, School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics, Swansea University

  2024 - Present

• Course Director, MSc by Research in Urban Studies, Swansea University

  2011 - Present

• Co-Director of the Centre for Urban Theory, Swansea University

  2006 - Present

• Fellow (Elected 01/01/1997), Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

  1997 - Present

• Editor, International Journal of Baudrillard Studies

  2017 - 2021

• Department Ethics Officer, Member Faculty Ethics Committee, Swansea University

  2020 - 2024

• REF Impact Lead (Geography), Department of Geography, Swansea University

  2010 - 2016

• Events Coordinator and Committee Member, Urban Geography Research Group (UGRG) Committee of the RGS-IBG

  2007 - 2010

• REF Team Committee Member (Geography), Swansea University

  2010 - 2016

• Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Baudrillard Studies

  2004 - 2017

• Member, EPSRC Networks Research Group

  2012 - Present

• Human Geography Strategy Meetings Chair, Department of Geography

  2006 - 2014

• Member of internal RAE Selection Working Group, Department of Geography

  2006 - 2007

• Departmental Research Seminar Organizer, Department of Geography

  2006 - 2011

• Centre for Urban Theory Seminar Organizer, Swansea University

  2007 - Present

(2018) "Applied Baudrillard", 5th to 7th September, Oxford Brookes University (UK). The 2nd International Multi-Disciplinary Conference for Baudrillard Studies. Co-organized with Dr Francesco Proto. Details and Photographs here.

(2012) “Seminars on Networks”. Organizer for Social Sciences and Humanities stream of invited seminars (EPSRC funded, co-applicant).

(2009) “Global Cities Now? Current Perspectives in ‘Global Urban Studies’”, 5th–6th November, UGRG Annual Conference (Royal Geographical Society), co-organized with Dr Margo Huxley. A two-day conference and Open Forum Discussion, c. 50 delegates and four keynote addresses, held at Swansea University.

(2008) “Urban MultipliCITIES”, 6th–7th November, UGRG Annual Conference (Royal Geographical Society), co-organized with Dr Margo Huxley. A two-day conference and Open Forum Discussion, c. 50 delegates and four keynote addresses, held at Queen Mary, University of London.

(2007) “Approaching Urban Geographies”, 1st–2nd November, UGRG Annual Conference (Royal Geographical Society), co-organized with Dr Margo Huxley. A two-day conference and Open Forum Discussion, c. 50 delegates and four keynote addresses, held in Sheffield.

(2006) “Engaging Baudrillard: An International Multi-Disciplinary Conference”, 4th to 6th September at Swansea University (UK) (Initiated by Dr Richard G. Smith, subsequently co-organized with Professor Marcus Doel, Professor Dave Clarke and Mr William Merrin). Keynote speakers: Mike Gane (Loughborough University), Douglas Kellner (UCLA) & Mark Poster (University of California, Irvine). The conference attracted 110 delegates covering 20 academic disciplines, 50% of delegates were from overseas (55). Turnover of conference = >£20,000. Photographs here.

(1999) “Joint Geography-Sociology Research Seminars” Initiator and co-organizer (with Professor Sallie Westwood (Sociology)). Inaugural guest speaker was: Professor Edward Soja (UCLA).

• Tokyo - Taith Researcher Mobility Visit 2024

  , £2630

• Chicago Global Cities Conference and Impact Visit 2023

  , £1000

• Chicago Global Cities Research Impact Visit 2023

  , £1500

• Smith RG (2025) Poststructuralist Cities (Key Debates and Contending Perspectives Series, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham) 2023 - 2025

• "Urban Acupuncture in South Wales: Pinprick Solutions for Urban Regeneration?" (Partner: Urban Foundry Ltd.), 2023-27: ESRC Collaborative PhD Studentship 2023 - 2027

  , c.£100,000

• Department of Geography Small Conference Fund 2022

  , £612

• Erasmus+ Staff Mobility Grant 2016

  A week of teaching, and giving a research seminar, on global cities at the Université d'Angers (France), £1023

• Santander Mobility Fund 2014 - 2016

  , £3000

• College of Science Research Fund Awards 2012 - 2014

  , £5733

• EPSRC Award 'Urban Networks' Seminar Series (Co-Applicant) 2012

  , £7500

• Economy & Society Journal Award 2006

  , £1000

• French Embassy Award 2006

  , £200

• British Academy Overseas Conference Grant Award 2004

  , £700

• British Academy Committee for South-East Asian Studies Research Grant 2000

  Main Outputs: Keynote (Berlin); Smith RG (2010) “Urban studies without ‘scale’: localizing the global through Singapore”, in Urban Assemblages: How Actor-Network Theory Changes Urban Studies edited by Ignacio Farias and Thomas Bender (Routledge), pp. 73–90, £3134

• Molson Research Award (British Association for Canadian Studies) 2000

  , £500

• Sir Ernest Cassel Educational Trust Fund (British Academy) 2000

  , £210

• British Academy Overseas Conference Grant 2000

  , £209

• Korean Research Fund 2000

  , US$250

• RGS-IBG (British Academy) Grant 2000

  , £800

• British Academy Overseas Conference Grant 2000

  , £580

• British Academy Overseas Conference Grant 2000

  , £580

• University of Leicester Research Fund Award 1999

  , £3000

(2016) Research visit to Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá Campus). (Funded by Santander Bank).

(2016) Research and Teaching Visit to the Université d’Angers (France). (Funded by Erasmus⁺ Staff Mobility Grant).

(2013) Invited and Funded Research visit to Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá Campus and Medellín Campus). (Funded by Universidad Nacional de Colombia).

(2005) Visiting Scholar, Department of Geography, University of Swansea, 27^th January to 27^th June.

(2000) Visiting Scholar, Centre for Advanced Studies, National University of Singapore, 20^th August to 22^nd September. (Funded by The British Academy)

(1998–2010) Honorary Research Fellow, Loughborough University, Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Invited Seminar Presentations

International

2016    Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá Campus)

2016    Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá Campus)

2015    Pontíficia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte)

2013    Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá Campus)

2013    Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Medellín Campus)

2005    Department of Geography, University of Sydney

2005    Centre for Transforming Cultures, University of Technology Sydney

2005    Department of Geography, University of Newcastle (Australia)

2000    Centre for Advanced Studies, National University of Singapore

National

2022    School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics, Swansea University

2021    Department of Geography, Swansea University

2014    College of Science, Swansea University

2013    EPSRC Networks Seminar, Swansea University

2008    Department of Geography, London School of Economics (LSE)

2007    Centre for Urban Theory, Swansea University

2006    Department of Geography, University of Leicester

2005    Department of Geography, University of Wales, Swansea

2004    Management Centre, University of Leicester

2003    Department of Geography, University of Leicester

2003    Leicester College

2003    Leicester Grammar School

2001    Faculty of Construction and the Environment, Nottingham Trent University

1999    Department of Geography, University of Leicester

1997    Department of Geography, Loughborough University

Presentations to Conferences

2022    RGS-IBG Annual Conference in Newcastle (August 30th to September 2nd)

2014    RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London (August 26-29^th)

2013    IV EUGEO Congress (Rome, 5-7 September)

2013    Post-Crash City: Urban Economies Conference (York, 4-5 July)

2013    ARS’13 International Workshop (Rome, June 20–22)

2012    IGU Conference (Cologne, August 26^th–30^th)

2012    RGS-IBG Annual Conference in Edinburgh (July 3^rd–5^th)

2008    “The Succession of Simulacra: The Legacy of Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007)”, Interdisciplinary Conference, University of California, Santa Barbara, April 18-19^th

2007    103^rd AAG Annual Meeting (San Francisco, April 17^th–21^st)

2007    RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London (August 28^th–31^st)

2006    RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London (30^th August to September 1st)

2005    4th International Conference of Critical Geography (Mexico City, 8th to 12th January).

2003    RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London (September 4th).

2002    3rd International Conference of Critical Geography (Hungary, 25th to 30th June).

2001    97th AAG Annual Meeting (New York, February 27th–March 3rd)

2000    96th AAG Annual Meeting (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 4th to 8th April)

2000    2nd International Conference of Critical Geography (Taegu, South Korea, 9th–13th August)

2000    29th International Geographical Congress (Seoul, South Korea, 14^th–18th August)

2000    Global Economic Geography Conference (National University of Singapore, Singapore, 5th–9th December)

1999    Economic Geography Research Group session on “Finance, the firm and economic geography” at the Leicester RGS-IBG conference (4th–7th January)

1999    Urban Geography Research Group session on “The New Institutionalism and the Governance of Cities” at the Leicester RGS-IBG conference (4th–7th January)

1998    RGS-IBG Annual Conference (Kingston University, 8th January)

1998    94th AAG Annual Meeting (Boston, 27th March)

1998    “Cities at the Millennium” conference (17th–19th December, 1998) in London at the Royal Institute of British Architects

1995    91st AAG Annual Meeting (Chicago, 14–18th March)

Organized Sessions and Sessions Chaired at Conferences

2022    Organized and chaired the "Covid-19 and the Built Environment" session at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference in Newcastle (August 30th to September 2nd)

2014    Organized the “Ordinary Cities #FAIL” session at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London

2014    Organized and chaired the two “Analyzing Urban Networks” sessions at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London

2007    Organized and chaired “Urban Theory” session at the 2007 AAG Annual Meeting in San Francisco [Sponsored by AAG Urban Geography Speciality Group]

2006    Organized and chaired (with Professor Marcus Doel & Professor Dave Clarke) the three “Just excess: geography without sustainability” sessions at the 2006 RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London (Sponsored by the Social & Cultural Geography Study Group)

2006    Chaired two sessions at the Engaging Baudrillard conference at Swansea University on “Space displaced” and the “Calculus of evil”

2001    Organized and chaired (with Professor Marcus Doel) the “Post-Marxist Human Geographies” session at the 97th AAG Annual Meeting in New York (February 27th–March 3rd)

2000    Organized and chaired three “Globalization and World Cities” sessions (with Professor Jon Beaverstock) at the 96th AAG Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (4th to 8th April) [Sponsored by AAG Urban Geography Speciality Group]

2000    Chaired the “Critical Poststructuralist Geographies” session at the 2nd International Conference of Critical Geography in Taegu, South Korea (9th to 13th August)

2000    Chaired technical session on “Global cities and global networks” at the 29th International Geographical Congress in Seoul, South Korea (14th to 18th August).

Secondary education

The research paradigm founded by the journal paper - ‘A Roster of World Cities’ (Web of Science citation >570) - features in the secondary school (16-18 year olds) Geography syllabus for both AQA and Cambridge International AS/A Level boards.

Non-academic users

My research on world and global cities has been influential across the world shaping the urban agendas of, and influencing leadership in, many cities. For example, influencing the ‘transnational local councils’ of Sydney and Vancouver, see: (1) Stein R (2002) Sydney Globalizing: A World City in National, Pacific Asia & International Context (Report Commissioned by Bahaus Dessau Foundation, Bauhaus Kolleg (Dessau, Germany), 98 pages; (2) City of Sydney (2000) Yearbook 1999 (Council of the City of Sydney).

I give talks to non-academic users - e.g. The Luxury Real Estate Association.

I blog for non-academic users - e.g. Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Media

My global cities research has been reported on and discussed on a worldwide basis in both the popular and business press, just some 30+ examples:

(1) The Bulletin “Melbourne: Chic happens” August 14th 2002;

(2) Wallpaper April 2000;

(3) The Dallas Morning News “Dallas is C-list? Whatever” 17 May 2000;

(4) Dallas Morning News “The Time has come for Dallas-Fort Worth to ease into urban maturity”, 4^th March 2001;

(5) The Sydney Morning Herald “A beta way to do business” 4 March 2002;

(6) Frankfurter Rundschau “Schluss mit bunt / Die Kulturkonzerne treiben die digitale Revolution voran” 28th August 2002;

(7) Johannesburg News Agency “World class cities and iconic architecture”, 22^nd May 2006;

(8) Metromode “Michigan Aerotropolis”, 31^st May 2007;

(9) Edge Singapore “As I call it: Are we a global city?”, 7^th August 2006;

(10) Philadelphia Daily News “Why evicting elephants is a dumbo idea”, 9^th October 2006;

(11) Houston Chronicle “Houston seeks world’s attention”, 1^st December 2006;

(12) Svenska Dagbladet “De globala städerna på frammarsch”, 1^st December 2003;

(13) Geographical: Special Issue on Mega City One, “Boom town”, April, 2008;

(14) Chicago Sun-Times “Alpha bravo! Chicago in top ten”, 21^st March 2007;

(15) San Antonio Express-News “Assuming S.A. wants to be a world city, how do we get there?”, 20^th May 2007;

(16) Journal of Risk Finance “Global Financial Centres: One, Two, Three … Infinity?”, March 2006;

(17) Manila Bulletin “437^th Foundation Anniversary of the City of Manila”, 24^th June 2008;

(18) National Post “Taking the city from beta to alpha”, 3^rd February 2007;

(19) The Globe and Mail “Does beta city have what it takes to be an alpha?”, 25^th January 2007;

(20) The Business Times Singapore “Alpha city Singapore”, 9^th August 2005;

(21) The Bulletin Australia “Melbourne: Chic happens”, 14^th August 2002;

(22) Business Traveller, “Sothern belle”, March 2011;

(23) The Globe and Mail “A crisis of culture”, 19^th June 2000;

(24) The Globe and Mail “And now a word about Toronto”, 3^rd July 2000;

(25) Global Traveller: The Source for Luxury Business Travellers “On the Rise: Upbeat Atlanta spreads its wings in new directions” February 2015, 58-59;

(26) Quartz “Nations are no longer driving globalization – cities are”, 3rd May 2013;

(27) Sydney Morning Herald “Sydney not yet a true global city” 12th April 2014;

(28) Forbes "The world's most influential cities", 14th August 2014;

(29) CityMetric "What does this town have to do to become a 'world city'?", 31st August 2014;

(30) The Telegraph "Is it really better for your career if you work in London?", 12th February 2015;

(31) Continental News "The Church of God to reach 10 major cities around the world", 15th December 2016;

(32) Mark Up "Milano magnetizza gli investimenti internazionali", 26th May 2017;

(33) Estonian World "Tallinn now considered a beta level global city", 16th August 2017;

(34) Business Insider UK "These 11 iOS and Android apps will help you make the most out of London", 23rd August 2017;

(35) Detroit Free Press "Chinese visitors encourage metro Detroit travellers to visit Beijing", 13th October 2017;

(36) Le Journal De Montreal "Rapatrier Montreal", 30th October 2017;

(37) The Australian "Sydney's changing skyline", 25th November 2018.

Academic Users

My research is discussed in many papers, monographs, and textbooks. Just a few examples, see:

• Abrahamson M (2004) Global Cities (Oxford University Press);
• Bryne D (2001) Understanding the Urban (Palgrave, New York);
• Clark D (2003) Urban world/global city (Routledge, London) 2^ndedition;
• Fossaert R (2001) “World cities in a world system”, Hérodote 105 (2nd March), 10–25;
• Hall P (2002) “Global City-Regions in the Twenty-first Century”, in Scott A (Ed.) et al. Global City-Regions(Oxford University Press), pp. 59–77; Hubbard P (2006) City (Routledge, London);
• Jacobs JM (2012) “Urban geographies I: Still thinking cities relationally”, Progress in Human Geography 36 (3), 412–422;
• Kaplan D H, Wheeler J O & Holloway S R (2004) Urban Geography (John Wiley & Sons);
• Marston S A, Jones III JP & Woodward K (2005) “Human Geography without scale”, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 30, 416–432;
• McCann E (2002) “The Urban as an Object of Study in Global Cities Literatures: Representational Practices and Conceptions of Place and Scale”, in Herod A & Wright M W (eds) Geographies of Power: Placing Scale(Blackwell, Oxford), pp. 61–84;
• Robinson J (2016) “Theorizing the global urban with ‘global and world cities’ research: Beyond cities and synechdoche”, Dialogues in Human Geography 16 (3), 268-272;
• Short J (2006) Urban Theory (Palgrave Macmillan, New York).

Most recently the validity of my critique of the ordinary city critique of the world and global cities literature (see Smith 2013 ‘The Ordinary City Trap‘; and, ‘The Ordinary City Trap Snaps Back‘) has been further confirmed, and I am pleased that my paper has had the desired affect of increasing dialogue within what had been an increasingly polarized Global Urban Studies: e.g. see:

• McNeill, D (2017) Global Cities and Urban Theory (Sage, London);
• Meeteren Mv, Derudder B, Bassens D (2016) “Can the straw man speak? An engagement with postcolonial critiques of ‘global cities research’, Dialogues in Human Geography, Vol 6 (3), 247-267.

My impression is that world cities scholars are in denial about my critique of Peter Taylor’s interlocking world city network model. Simply thinking that my critique is ‘poststructuralist’ is a wholly inadequate response (see Taylor and Derudder in the 2nd Edition of World City Network), and obscures the fact of the logical fallacy at the heart of Taylor’s model with regard to identifying command-and-control centres within the overall world city network. Please note that my critique of Taylor (2001 onwards) is not an auto-critique of the foundational research on the world city network which I undertook and published with him and Jon Beaverstock (Beaverstock, Smith and Taylor, 1999, 2000). Our work avoided the logical fallacy subsequently introduced by Taylor (2001). See: Smith RG (2014) “Beyond the global city concept and the myth of ‘command and control’”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 38, 98–115. An extract of this paper has also been published in: Ren X & Keil R eds. (2017) The Globalizing Cities Reader (Routledge, London & New York, 2^nd Revised Edition).

Top 10 most highly cited journal papers (Web of Science citation). Several of the papers listed here have been reprinted in no fewer than 7 edited book collections as the leading papers in the fields of Urban Studies, Urban Geography, and Global Cities. Other papers have also been translated into languages other than English. (Note. This is the Web of Science citation Top 10; some other papers not listed here are more highly cited on Google Scholar)

Journal Papers

1. (>580 citations) Beaverstock JV, Smith RG & Taylor PJ (1999) “A roster of world cities”, Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, 16 (6), 445–458. Noted as “One of the TOP 25 Hottest Articles”. (>1850 citations on Google Scholar)

2. (>315 citations) Beaverstock JV, Smith RG & Taylor PJ (2000) “World city network: a new metageography?”, millennial issue of the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 90, March, 123–134. (>835 citations on Google Scholar)

3. (>110 citations) Smith RG (2003) “World city actor-networks”, Progress in Human Geography, 27 (1), 25–44. Noted as one of “The 50 Most Frequently-Cited Articles”. (>360 citations on Google Scholar)

4. (>90 citations) Beaverstock JV, Smith RG, Taylor PJ, Walker DFR and Lorimer HN (2000) “Globalization and world cities: some measurement methodologies”, Applied Geography, 20, 43–63. (>330 citations on Google Scholar)

5. (>75 citations) Beaverstock JV, Smith RG and Taylor PJ (1999) “The long arm of the law: London’s law firms in a globalizing world-economy”, Environment & Planning A, 31 (10), October, 1857–1876. (>180 citations on Google Scholar)

6. (>75 citations) Smith RG (2003) “World city topologies”, Progress in Human Geography, 27 (5), 561–582. (>215 citations on Google Scholar)

7. (>45 citations) Smith RG (2014) “Beyond the global-city concept and the myth of ‘command and control’”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 38 (1), January, 98–115. (>90 citations on Google Scholar)

8. (>40 citations) Beaverstock JV, Smith RG and Taylor PJ (2000) “Geographies of globalization: US law firms in world cities”, Urban Geography, 21 (2), 95–120. (>100 citations on Google Scholar)

9. (>40 citations) Smith RG and Doel MA (2011) “Questioning the Theoretical Basis of Current Global-City Research: Structures, Networks and Actor-Networks”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 35 (1), 24-39. (>90 citations on Google Scholar)

10. (>25 citations) Smith RG (2013) “The ordinary city trap”, Environment and Planning A, 45 (10), October, 2290–2304. (>50 citations on Google Scholar)

Reprints in edited books (Readers)

1. Smith RG (2017) “Beyond the global-city concept and the myth of ‘command and control’” in Keil R, Ren X, Brenner N eds. The Globalizing Cities Reader (Routledge, London & New York, 2^nd Revised Edition), pp. 413-418.

2. Smith RG (2015) “The Catastrophe of Paradox: Questions and Answers on Hyperreal America with Jean Baudrillard”, in Smith RG and Clarke DB eds. (2015) Jean Baudrillard: from Hyperreality to Disappearance, Uncollected Interviews (Edinburgh University Press), pp. 162–170.

3. Beaverstock JV, Smith RG and Taylor PJ (2011) “World city network: a new metageography?”, in LeGates RT & Stout F eds. The City Reader 5th Ed. (Routledge, London & New York), pp. 563–571.

4. Beaverstock JV, Smith RG and Taylor PJ (2010) “World city network: a new metageography?”, in Paddison R & Timberlake M eds. Urban Studies (Economy), Volume III: Connected Cities: Hinterlands, Hierarchies, Networks and Beyond (Sage, London), pp. 224–239.

5. Beaverstock JV, Smith RG and Taylor PJ (2007) “World city network: a new metageography?”, in Moseley WG, Lanegran DA & Pandit K eds. The Introductory Reader in Human Geography: Contemporary Debates and Classic Writings (Blackwell, Oxford), pp. 233–243.

6. Beaverstock JV, Smith RG and Taylor PJ (2006) “World city network: a new metageography?”, in Brenner N & Keil R eds. The Global Cities Reader (Routledge, London & New York), pp. 96–103.

7. Smith RG (2006) “World city topologies”, in Brenner N & Keil R eds. The Global Cities Reader (Routledge, London & New York), pp. 400–406.

8. Beaverstock JV, Smith RG and Taylor PJ (2005) “World city network: a new metageography?”, in Fyfe N & Kenny J eds. The Urban Geography Reader (Routledge, London & New York), pp.63–73. (Kindle edition 2020)

9. Smith RG (2000) “The end of geography and radical politics in Baudrillard’s philosophy”, in Gane M ed. Jean Baudrillard [Volume 1] (Sage, London), pp. 163–184.

Translations

Translations into Chinese and Swedish.

March (2018) translation to Chinese in the journal Governance Studies of: Smith RG (2014) ‘Beyond the global city concept and the myth of “command and control”‘, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 38 (1) January, 98-115. Full Chinese Reference and Download here: 治理研究　超越全球城市治理和_指挥与控制_的迷思_理查德_G_史密斯

As a postmodernist I am the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) Lead for the School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics; a role whereby I seek to encourage a diversity of human experience and a multiplicity of perspectives across the School.

As a postmodern urban theorist my research interests engage, among other things, with issues of social justice, community empowerment, and participatory urban development in cities across the world.

Three examples:

• On ending bonded labour practices in Dubai;

• On the implications of satellite imagery for potentially disempowering poor communities in the mega-cities of the developing world;

• On favela painting in Brazil. First, the exhibition of my award winning photograph to audiences in the UK and USA (at the Digital Technium and Taliesin Arts Centre (July-August 2015); Swansea Grand Theatre (September-October 2015); the Royal Institution in London (February-March 2016); University of Texas, Austin (April-May 2016)) to raise the profile and purpose of such community initiatives. Second, my attendance (sponsored by Santander bank) and communication of a favela painting initiative undertaken by Brazilian friends in Belo Horizonte’s Morro do Papagaio (Parrot Hill) favela to urban practitioners and sponsors at the 2016 United Nations Habitat III Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in Quito. This also involved writing an article for Links Magazine: Chamber of Industry & Commerce Ecuador & Great Britain (Special issue for UNESCO Habitat III conference, Quito, October, page 35).

World Cities

I have taught a final year module on World Cities for over 20 years. The theme of the coursework assessment for the module is ‘London After Brexit and/or Covid-19’. Brexit was the topic of my invited TEDx talk given in London in June 2017 and Covid-19 is the context for a recently published journal paper on skyscrapers in the world city network. My module enables final year students to advance their interest in World Cities and a research paradigm which they first encounter in AS/A Level Geography. The module is taught in a way that is not only theoretical and empirical, but also practical – enabling their exploration of the ‘real world’ application of world cities research and theory to understand two of London’s most important and challenging contemporary issues: Brexit and Covid-19.

I have taken Year 2 students to New York for over 20 years*. This trip feeds into my Year 3 World Cities optional module.

I also teach a Global cities course in Year 1 at Swansea and also at Masters level with lectures on the pathologies of global cities. In March 2017 I also taught six lectures on World Cities and current issues in Urban Studies at the Université d’Angers (France).

I also teach global cities through my teaching on qualitative methods - corporate elite interviewing to Masters students and visual methods (urban photography) to Year 1 students.

* First Aid Qualification: REC Mountain First Aid (24 hr) - including FAW - Training (30/11/2021 - 02/12/2021) PASS.

Teaching Experience

Postgraduate

Major Teaching Initiatives

2011–Responsible for designing and implementing three new masters schemes: MRes in Urban Studies; MSc by Research Urban Studies; and, MPhil Urban Studies

2004–2005 Responsible for designing and implementing a new Taught MSc/Diploma in Human Geography

2001–2005 Responsible for successfully establishing two new ESRC 1+3 recognised MSc courses: MSc Research in Human Geography and MSc in GIS and Human Geography

Courses Taught

Dissertation

Philosophy in Human Geography

Globalization & Difference

Introduction to Research in Human Geography

Contemporary Research in Human Geography

Urban Networks and the Knowledge Economy

Qualitative Methods (Elite Interviewing)

Undergraduate

Major Teaching Initiatives

2005 – Established student exchange schemes with Australian Universities (Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle) for Department’s 4 year study abroad degrees

2002 – Founder and leader of Year 2 Urban Geography Field Trip to New York

Courses Taught

Dissertation

Social & Cultural Urban Geographies

Geographical Methods: Human Geography Field-based Project (Visual Methods: Urban Photography)

Global Cities

World Cities

Poststructuralist Cities

Mallorca, New York, Exeter Field Trips

Political Geographies

Urban Geographies

Teaching Administration

Postgraduate Administration

Developer of (wrote content and saw through university validation process) three Research Masters courses for which became course convenor responsible for all aspects: MRes Urban Studies, MSc by Research in Urban Studies, MPhil Urban Studies (2011–pres.)

Course Director MSc in Research in Human Geography (2001–2005)

Joint Course Director MSc in Research in GIS and Human Geography (2001–2005)

Course Director Taught MSc/Diploma in Human Geography (2004–2005) [These 3 Director roles included all administrative responsibilities (e.g. recruitment and admissions, marketing and publicity, time-tabling, teaching and learning, examinations officer etc.)] 

Postgraduate Committee (2001–2005)

Module Convenor for 3 MSc modules (2001–2006)

Undergraduate Administration

Department Co-ordinator Undergraduate Dissertations (2016–2020)

Head of Year 3 (2016-2020)

Acting Head of Year 2 (2016)

Examinations Officer (2011–2014)

Geography Board of Studies

School Learning and Teaching Committee (2006–2007)

School/Department Unfair Practice Officer (2008–2011)

Examination Paper Review Officer (2002–2004)

Administration and Progress Committee (2002–2003)

Dissertations Officer (1999–2001)

Careers Officer (1999–2001)

Departmental Learning and Teaching Committee (1999–2001)

Exam Paper Committee (1999 onwards, Chair 2002–2004)

International (i.e. Erasmus Study Abroad, etc.) Tutor (2005–2006)