REP Research Roundup: June 2025
Department news
The Department of Real Estate and Planning is now on LinkedIn! To keep up with the amazing work we do please follow us on LinkedIn.
Urban Economics Workshop -
We were honoured to host the ‘University of Reading Workshop in Urban Economics and Economic Geography’, on the June 5 and 6. We had an amazing programme with 40 papers and researchers coming from across the UK and overseas, two keynote lectures delivered by Henry Overman (LSE) and Tony Venables (Oxford), and two evening informal networking events. We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2026!
Women in Property South East Regional Finals -
The awards programme aims to highlight and reward the best Built Environment degree students from across the country. Running regionally each year, universities nominate their top female second-year students on a Built Environment degree course. The regional nominees appear before a judging panel, where they are questioned about a piece of coursework and also assessed on their personal skills, professional potential, and understanding of the industry. The University of Reading scooped two winners; Mary Melindji (BSc Quantity Surveying), and Rusul Ramadhan (BEng Architectural Engineering). Nida Zahra. (BSc Real Estate) was also highly commended for her presentation and passion for the sector. Winner Mary Melindji ‘discovered’ careers within the built environment after attending the annual Pathways to Property Summer School for Year 12 students at Henley Business School. Congratulations to all of our nominated students for making it to the South East Regional Final, we are extremely proud of you all. Thank you to Jane Batchelor for attending the awards to support our students. Wishing the best of luck to Mary and Rusul as they go forward to the National Final in September!
CBRE Seminar -
A big thank you to Adam Shapton from Green Street and Steven Devaney from CBRE for coming to campus and giving our MSc and UG students two insightful seminars last Thursday! Our students had good discussions with them on REIT valuation method, and real estate investments and debt funding gap in Europe.
Thanks to Claire Xiaoying Deng and Yuan Zhao for organising this!
MSc Finance Fieldtrip -
Our MSc Real Estate Finance students went on a trip to London to visit Grosvenor Office and Hines Grainhouse on the 19th of May.The students learnt a lot from the presentation and site visit kindly provided by Aimee van der Merwe and her colleagues from Grosvenor, and the case study and building tour kindly offered by Robbie Pitman and Jake Walsh from Hines. Our wonderful hosts shared their invaluable insights and experience in real estate development and funding with the cohort. Thank you so much for a great day. We would also like to thank Yuan Zhao for organising the trip and Jiarong Li and Shin Gyojun for helping on the day.
Dragons Den -
On March 13th, undergraduate students specialising in Real Estate and Planning took part in a business idea competition modelled after the famous 'Dragons' Den.' As a component of the Real Estate Entrepreneurship and Technology module (RE2 ENT), the Dragons' Den challenge motivates our students to initiate transformative advancements in the real estate sector by through innovative technologies. A total of 116 students were divided into 21 teams to develop a unique selling proposition aimed at addressing a real-world issue while also leveraging disruptive technologies to transform current practices in the real estate industry. After 3 months of preparation, learning and research, the students presented their pitch to the Dragons. In the end, 3 teams won: BumbleBee, BLOCAM, and Nestify, with Nestify being voted the Grand Champion!
Research news
External Awards -
Carlo Corradini – ESRC Flexible Fund Round 2 (lead by University of Sheffield)
- Title: Exploring the Link between Publicly Funded R&D Collaborations and Regional Technological Development
- Total: £39,998
Internal Awards -
Prof Angelique Chettiparamb and Dr Chris Maidment have been awarded funds to cover consultancy costs in order to employ Carys Davis from ‘The Other Place Public Affairs’ for expert inputs to create policy briefings linked to their research on Civic Societies and the Planning process in UK.
Research Bids submitted (External) -
Yuan Zhao - British Academy Small Grant
- Title: Herding in the UK residential markets
- Total bid: £8,552
Jiarong Li – British Academy Small Grant
- Title: National Identity in Corporate Strategy: Stakeholder Responses and Market Consequences
- Total bid: £9,995
Carlo Corradini – British Academy Small Grant
- Title: Connecting invention, adoption and spatial diffusion of Industry 4.0 technologies
- Total bid: £8,794
Claire Deng – British Academy Small Grant
- Title: Green Investment and Carbon Footprint (RESUBMISSION)
- Total bid: £9,997
Publications
- Bragaglia, F., Homer, N. and Parker, G. (2025) Disentangling the multiple roles of neighbourhood planning consultants in the English planning system. A view from within. Planning Practice & Research. doi: 10.1080/02697459.2025.2511689 (In Press)
Abstract
The extensive use of consultants in English neighbourhood planning was identified early in research discussing its implementation. This practice paper reflects on the roles that such consultants have sustained in the ‘enactment space’ shaped by that policy. This is sustained by highlighting the experience of an extensively active consultant whose reflection is used as a form of biographical interpretivist research to highlight the nuances of the consultant role amongst and between civil society, private actors and the state. The paper provides insight on consultants in a form of co-produced planning and reflects on the planning implications more widely.
- Parker, G. and Maidment, C. (2025) Planning education and the field of practice: a Bourdieusian analysis. Town Planning Review, 97 (1). doi: 10.3828/tpr.2025.20 (In Press)
Abstract
In the context of change and pressures to refigure formal planning education, the paper draws on Bourdieu’s field theory to frame the experience of graduates in initial planning education in the UK. The research situates education in a contested professional context. The findings hold import for the profession given that relevant knowledge is expanding, core knowledge must be retained and instilled early, while training about specific policy or process can be maintained over a longer run. Greater integration and coordination of education and training must be developed if the profession is to maintain quality and integrity, as well as relevance.
- Bragaglia, F. and Parker, G. (2024) Territorial governance, social innovation, and co-production: signifiers or significant? In: Cotella, G. and Rivolin, U. J. (eds.) Handbook of Territorial Governance. Edward Elgar, pp. 189-204. (In Press)
Abstract
Social innovation (SI) and co-production are increasingly pervasive concepts in public policy. The contribution critically investigates the opportunities and limits of territorial governance based on these “open signifier” concepts. In particular, we highlight three specific aspects of SI and co-production in territorial governance. The first aspect is how they are interpreted in different political-institutional contexts. The second dimension relates to concerns about how these concepts and associated practices are organised and who benefits from the new processes of shared governance. Finally, we argue that the concern about how the power of SI and co-production can progressively reshape territorial governance and, specifically, the planning practice. We conclude by suggesting future research avenues in which the use of SI and co-production are claimed to be different in both design and impact, and which require further questioning.
PhD NEWS
Conference presentation -
Candidate: Sarityastuti Saraswati (2025) The Urban Regeneration of Kampung Akuarium Jakarta; Land Economy Early Career Researchers’ Conference 2025 (hosted by the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge). The David Attenborough Building, Cambridge. Date of Presentation: 9 May, 2025.
Supervisors: Pete Wyatt and Emma Street