Dr Robert Cowley
Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Cities
Research interests
- Sustainable cities & communities (SDG 11)
- Geography
Contact details
Biography
Dr Robert Cowley joined the Department of Geography in 2015. His research interests relate to visions of the urban future, and the processes through which these are implemented in particular places.
He worked as Project Coordinator on a three-year research project 'Smart Eco-Cities: A Comparative Study of Europe and China'. Previously, he was Network Coordinator for the Leverhulme Trust-funded international research consortium 'Tomorrow’s City Today – an International Comparison of Eco-City Frameworks'.
More recently, he has led research exploring governance questions around future settlements on Mars, and is currently working with Westminster City Council to facilitate ongoing collaboration with King’s on local urban sustainability initiatives (as part of a five-country project led by the State University of Portland).
His PhD thesis, completed at the University of Westminster, explored the governance of ‘eco-city’ initiatives around the world. Before that, he took an MA in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Westminster (2010). His first degree was in Modern Languages and Literature (Russian and Modern Greek) at the University of Oxford.
Research
- ‘Smart’ and ‘eco’ urban initiatives
- Governance of urban sustainability
- Publics and public space
- Sustainability transitions
- Urban experiments
Robert’s research focuses on the proliferation of diverse ‘eco’ and ‘smart’ urban initiatives and policies around the world. In particular, he is interested in the way that these ideas travel and are translated into varying practices in different settings, the conceptual and practical tensions between the ‘eco’ and the ‘smart’, and the significance of these experimental approaches to urban development for traditional modes of planning.
Teaching
Undergraduate
- 4SSG1008 Geography Tutorials: Critical Thinking and Techniques
- 4SSG1016 Geography in Action
- 5SSG2058 Urban Geography: Exploring the City
- 5SSG2065 Cities and Citizenship
Postgraduate
- 7SSG5002 Practising Social Research
- 7SSG5179 Understanding the Sustainable City
- 7SSG5180 Governing the Sustainable City
Further details
Research
Urban Futures research group
Examining urban futures through a conceptual, analytical and methodological lens that questions what cities are and how they work.
King's Climate Research Hub
Studying climate change through the relationship between science, policy and culture, particularly in the developing world.
News
Collective climate action needed, King's experts tell London Climate Action Week
As part of London Climate Action Week, King’s experts demonstrated the value of partnership to address policy gaps and improve climate change adaptation plans.
King's experts contribute to Lambeth's new Climate Action Plan
King’s local borough Lambeth launches Climate Action Plan after an extensive process of collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including King’s experts.
King's experts to work with Lambeth Council and its residents on climate change
Local representatives and residents will be guided by King’s advisors as they investigate solutions and barriers to Lambeth becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
Manifesto urges us to consider realities of living on Mars
The notion of humans living on Mars is no longer purely a fantastical and distant sci-fi aspiration.
Events
Incorporating climate into governance: Perspectives from multiple industries
Join experts from across Social Science & Public Policy in discussing the importance of incorporating climate into governance.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Cities, regions and built environment: Advancing climate action in the places we live
Dr Robert Cowley from the Department of Geography looks at transformative solutions at more local levels and how these can support our cities adapt to climate...
Research
Urban Futures research group
Examining urban futures through a conceptual, analytical and methodological lens that questions what cities are and how they work.
King's Climate Research Hub
Studying climate change through the relationship between science, policy and culture, particularly in the developing world.
News
Collective climate action needed, King's experts tell London Climate Action Week
As part of London Climate Action Week, King’s experts demonstrated the value of partnership to address policy gaps and improve climate change adaptation plans.
King's experts contribute to Lambeth's new Climate Action Plan
King’s local borough Lambeth launches Climate Action Plan after an extensive process of collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including King’s experts.
King's experts to work with Lambeth Council and its residents on climate change
Local representatives and residents will be guided by King’s advisors as they investigate solutions and barriers to Lambeth becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
Manifesto urges us to consider realities of living on Mars
The notion of humans living on Mars is no longer purely a fantastical and distant sci-fi aspiration.
Events
Incorporating climate into governance: Perspectives from multiple industries
Join experts from across Social Science & Public Policy in discussing the importance of incorporating climate into governance.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Cities, regions and built environment: Advancing climate action in the places we live
Dr Robert Cowley from the Department of Geography looks at transformative solutions at more local levels and how these can support our cities adapt to climate...