Professor James White
Principal Investigator and Planning Authorities Co-Lead
James White is Professor of Planning and Urban Design at the University of Glasgow where he co-leads the Place and Built Environment subject group and teaches on urban design and the planning system. He is the Principal Investigator of URBAN RETROFIT and Deputy Director of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence.
James is interested in the theory and application of design governance and place adaptation for sustainable development. His research focuses on the tools and mechanisms that planners use to shape the design of new and existing places. James’s recent published work includes studies of housing design quality in the four UK nations, the experience economy on the UK high street, and the future of large city centre shopping malls.
His 2023 book, Condoland, co-authored with John Punter, examines the design impacts of vertical urbanisation in Toronto, Canada. James is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Chartered Town Planner and a Member of the Urban Design Group. He sits on the Glasgow Urban Design Panel and serves as Chair of the Royal Town Planning Institute’s University of Newcastle Partnership Board. He is a member of the ESRC Peer Review College.