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Staff Profile

Dr Matthew Richmond

Lecturer in Political Geography

Background

I am a political and urban geographer, with an interest in how cities are governed and transformed by diverse actors. This might include anyone from local governments and private developers to social movements, criminal groups, or ordinary people. My research mainly focuses on the Latin American region, in particular Brazil.

I completed my PhD in Geography at King's College London in 2015, and then postdoctoral fellowships at the Centro de Estudos da Metrópole (CEM) and at the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), both in Sao Paulo. In 2020, I returned to the UK to undertake a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship at the London School of Economics. I have been Lecturer in Political Geography at Newcastle University since September 2023.


Research

My research broadly addresses themes of urban development, governance, security and sustainability in Latin America and especially Brazil. I am interested in how state and nonstate actors coexist and co-produce governance in particular urban spaces, in arrangements than span from conflict to collaboration. This has included projects looking at topics such as gentrification and displacement; informal and peripheral urbanisation; subjectivity and everyday life at the margins; police/criminal relations; social movements and participation; and illiberalism and electoral geography. My current research is exploring the relationship between informal land development, environmental conservation and organised crime in Brazilian cities.

Teaching

I currently teach on the undergraduate modules 'GEO –1026 Becoming a Geographer', 'GEO2140 – Research Design and Planning for Human Geographers', 'GEO2047 – Political Geography', and '2103 – Development and Globalisation'. I also contribute to the postgraduate modules 'GEO8017 – Human Geography: Concepts in Action' and 'POL8026 – Security: Politics, Society and Space'.


I am interested in receiving expressions of interest from potential PhD candidates. Please get in touch if you're interested in developing a project linked to any of my own research interests.

Publications