Staff Profile:Dr Richard Nunes

Name:

Dr Richard Nunes

Job Title:

Lecturer

Responsibilities:

Areas of Interest:

Richard Nunes' interests relate to design, planning, and governance, especially where it involves the integration of urban ecosystem services into development planning processes and urban policy decision-making tools. He examines human-environment interactions, whether mediated by citizen actions or institutions, and its effects on the interplay of knowledge and policy development as well as integrated planning processes and outcomes.

Richard is mainly concerned with how and why environmental attitudes, risk perceptions and associated ecological behaviour vary across distinct social and stakeholder groups, different biophysical settings, and diverse places. Currently, his work places particular emphasis on the causes, consequences and feedbacks of innovative land management and business practices in areas such as public-private partnerships, participatory economic planning, community-based enterprise, and cooperative-led and -funded development.

Richard's previous research has included the mapping of business leaders' perceptions of economic crisis and its incorporation in knowledge development and strategic planning in Portugal, and the interplay of knowledge and policy development into European spatial planning practices. While at Reading, his research has been situated in London and Sao Paulo (Brazil), where he collaborates with multidisciplinary scholars and social entrepreneurs. He convenes modules in urban design and sustainability, urbanisation and issues in urban governance, and research methods.

Research groups / Centres:

Publications:

Qualifications:

Bachelor in Architecture, Cornell University, 1996
Master in Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2003
PhD in Planning Studies, University College London, 2011

Responsibilities

• School e-Learning Coordinator (Real Estate & Planning)
• Member, HBS Library and Learning Resources Committee
• Postgraduate Admissions Tutor (Planning)
• Member, Postgraduate Research Training Group (Real Estate & Planning)

• Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• Fellow, Academy of Urbanism
• Research Associate, Walker Institute, University of Reading

• PhD studentship award (2003-06), Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
• PhD studentship award (2004-07), UCL Overseas Research Scholarship

• Amy Merritt, Evidencing Sustainable Outcomes: How monitoring and evaluation can support Transition's influence on local sustainability planning and policy
• Nicholas Fielmua, Sustaining small town water systems in Northern Ghana: An analysis of institutional adaptive capacity.

 

Research

FaST-In: Failure and Success of Transition Initiatives (with Dr. G. Feola). Funded by Henley Business School and School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Reading (2012-13)

NIf-T: Niche Innovations for Transition. Scaling-up for gradual radical transformation. Funded by Santander Research Scholarships (2011-12)

Innovative practices and dynamic transformation in the Portuguese footwear cluster (with Prof. M. Heitor, Instituto Superior Technico). Funded by Fundação Ciencia e Tecnologia (Portugal) (2003-04)

Entrepreneurial Planning and Urban Telecommunications-oriented Development. Funded by the Luso-American Development Foundation / UMass Amherst Center for Economic Development (2000-01)

 

Recent Publications

Article

Adams, N., Cotella, G. and Nunes, R. J. (2013) The engagement of territorial knowledge communities with European spatial planning and the territorial cohesion debate: a Baltic perspective. European Planning Studies. ISSN 1469-5944 doi: 10.1080/09654313.2013.772735 (In Press)

Cotella, G., Adams, N. and Nunes, R. J. (2012) Engaging in European spatial planning: a central and Eastern European perspective on the territorial cohesion debate. European Planning Studies, 20 (7). pp. 1197-1220. ISSN 1469-5944 doi: 10.1080/09654313.2012.673567

Book or report section

Cidre, E., Cotella, G. and Nunes, R. J. eds. (2008) Central and Eastern European enlargement: new challenges and opportunities for urban environments. Alpha Spectra Planning Studies: Central European Journal of Architecture and Planning, 12 (1). Slovenská technická univerzita.

Nunes, R. J., Cidre, E. and Cotella, G., eds. (2007) Central and Eastern European engagement: planning, development and sustainability. Alpha Spectra Planning Studies: Central European Journal of Architecture and Planning, 11 (2). Slovenská technická univerzita. ISBN 1135-2679

Nunes, R. J., Heitor, M. and Conceicao, P. (2007) Technological change and challenges for regional development: building social capital in less-favoured regions. In: Kuklinski, A., Landabaso, M. and Roman, C. (eds.) Europe: reflections on social capital, innovation and regional development: the Ostuni consensus. REUPUS Recifer Eurofutures Publication Series (3). Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu - National-Louise University. ISBN 9788388421518

Book

Adams, N., Cotella, G. and Nunes, R. J. eds. (2011) Territorial development, cohesion and spatial planning: knowledge and policy development in an enlarged EU. Regions and cities, 46. Routledge, London, pp 484. ISBN 9780415551946

Conference or workshop item

Nunes, R. J. (2013) The place of community-led enterprise in the everyday politics of Transition practice. In: AAG Association of American Geographer Annual Meeting. 9-13 April, Los Angeles, California (USA)

Nunes, R.J., (2013) Exploring the potential for appreciative inquiry in research. Narratives and the institutional ethnography of everyday community-led Transition performances, Human and Environmental Research Group Seminar, Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading

Feola, G. and Nunes, R. J., (2013) What factors facilitate transformation in practice? A study of the international diffusion of the Transition Network, In: ESEE 2013 Conference : Ecological Economics and Institutional Dynamics, 10th biennal conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics. 18-21 June, Lille (France)

Nunes, R. J. (2012) Transition (Town) politics. Scaling up for gradual radical transformation. In: 18th Annual Conference of the Institute for Sustainable Development Research. 24-26 July, Hull, England (UK)

Nunes, R. J. and Chettiparamb, A., (2012) From appreciative inquiry to transformative inquiry. Explorations in pedagogy. In: Development Studies Association Conference. 3 November, London.

Nunes, R. J. and Chettiparamb, A., (2012) Appreciative Inquiry and Participatory Governance: Exploring appreciative approaches to research, practice and pedagogy in international development. Panel conveners. In: Development Studies Association Conference. 3 November, London.

Nunes, R. J. (2011) Territorial governance at the interplay of knowledge and policy development. An EU/UK exploration, Globalisation, Climate Change and Urban Governance: Balancing the Scales for both Efficient and Pro-Poor Urban Futures - The Case of Brazil and the UK, Oxford Brookes UK-Brazil Urban Network, Oxford, UK

Nunes, R. J., Adams, N. and Cotella, G. (2009) Policy 'framing' and evidence-based planning: 'epistemic communities' in the multi-jurisdictional environment of an enlarged Europe. In: 23rd Congress of the Association of the European Schools of Planning, July 15-18, Liverpool, England.

Nunes, R. J. (2009) Policy 'framing' and evidence-based planning: 'epistemic communities' in the multi-jurisdictional environment of an enlarged EU, AESOP Conference, Liverpool, UK

Nunes, R. J. (2007) 'Change' and 'Uncertainty' in the Portuguese Footwear Industry: Mapping Agent Perceptions, ESRC Conference on Risk and Rationalities, Cambridge, UK

Nunes, R. J. (2006) Crisis Management and Control in a Policy Vacuum: Deconstructing the Portuguese Footwear Industry Promotion Discourses, Global Places, Local Spaces, Planning Research Conference, London, UK

Nunes, R. J. (2005) Innovation, Vulnerability and Regional Development: Exploring Vulnerability 'Nodes' in the Portuguese Leather-footwear Fashion Industry, 'Globelics' PhD workshop, Lisbon, Portugal

Nunes, R. J. (2005) The Regional Question: Complexity, Reflexivity and Scale. Toward a Learning Contingent Theory of Regions, Regional Studies Conference, Angers, France

Thesis

Nunes, R. J. (2011) Conceptualizing change in the Portuguese footwear industry: regional voices and cognitive spaces of agency. PhD thesis, University College London

Book review

Nunes, R. J. (2010) 'Territorial knowledge channels: Understanding and meeting the challenges of territorial cohesion', Regional Insights, Vol. 1:1, Regional Studies Association: Seaford

Nunes, R. J. (2008) Review of OSWALT, P. (ed.) (2005) 'Shrinking Cities' (Hatje Cantz Publishers), for Urban Studies, 45(5/6), May

Other

Nunes, R. J. (2012) The Ballerina and the Bull toward Transition, The Forum, University of Reading

Nunes, R. J. and Heitor, M. (eds.) (2004) A Practical Guide to Regional Foresight in Portugal. European Commission: Brussels ISBN: 9289447079