Dr Ed Ferrari
Lecturer
Room number: D23
Telephone (internal): 26907
Telephone (UK): 0114 222 6907
Telephone (International): +44 114 222 6907
Email: e.t.ferrari@sheffield.ac.uk
Academic profile
I was awarded a BA in Urban Studies in 1997 from the University of Sheffield, followed by a Diploma in Town Planning (including RTPI Prize) from Sheffield in 1998. I worked as GIS Officer for Birmingham City Council and then became a Research Fellow at the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham from 2002-2004. During this time I completed my PhD which was from the Department of Town and Regional Planning, University of Sheffield and this was completed in 2003. I became a Lecturer at Birmingham from 2004 - 2006. From 2006 – 2008 I was Research Fellow in the Department of Town and Regional Planning, University of Sheffield and I was appointed as Lecturer in 2008.
Research interests
My main research interests are in the analysis of housing markets, mobility in the social rented sector, application of GIS to housing research, and use of secondary data-sets for policy research and evaluation. I have also explored the use of GIS and vacancy chain modelling techniques for housing strategy.
Current research
My research activities include work undertaken for a wide range of local and central government clients. I have been closely involved with evidence gathering, strategy formulation and evaluation for Housing Market Renewal (HMR) pathfinders. I have worked closely with regional and subregional housing partnerships on a range of projects aimed at developing evidence bases for spatial strategy and housing investment purposes. For further information click here.
Teaching
I am a firm believer that we better understand things by putting theory into practice. This way we are able to simultaneously develop our knowledge and our skills in a mutually reinforcing way. For these reasons, all of my teaching has a practical, applied element that is designed carefully to deepen our understanding of the concepts. I also recognise that planners don’t just talk – they have to make decisions and do things. It’s no good just thinking and learning about things in the abstract if we don’t translate this into meaningful action. That’s why, wherever possible, I encourage students to tackle real world problems, often in real neighbourhoods, using real data, for a real purpose. This is part of the contribution that students can make to society: not just learning for their own sake, but for the good of their city – an idea at the core of the Civic University.
I teach the following modules:
TRP109 Data Analysis and Presentation
TRP216 Spatial Analysis
TRP449 Local Action Planning Project
Key publications
• Ferrari, E and Rae, A. (2013) The spatiality of housing market volatility and selective migration, Town Planning Review, 84(1), pp.107-125
• Ferrari, E. (2012) Competing ideas of social justice and space: locating critiques of housing renewal in theory and practice, International Journal of Housing Policy, 12 (3), pp 263-280.
• Crook, A., Ferrari, E. and Kemp, P.A. (2012)Knowing the area: the management of market and business risks by private landlords in Scotland, Urban Studies, 49 (15), pp3347-3363
• Ferrari, E., Leahy Laughlin, D. And Watkins, C.A. (2011) Planning and the housing market: reflection on strategic housing market assessment in England, Town Planning Review, 82 (4), pp 393 - 423
• Ferrari, E. (2011) Conceptualising social housing within the wider housing market: a vacancy chain model, Housing Studies, 26 (1), pp 95-116.
Other information
I am the Undergraduate Admissions Tutor for Town and Regional Planning. I am responsible for assessing all UCAS applications to our department, for making decisions about offers to potential students, for running and managing departmental and university open days, for liaising with all prospective applicants and for admitting applicants once their results have been determined in August each year. I work closely with the University Recruitment and Admissions team, as well as Admissions tutors from the Department of Geography, Landscape and Architecture. See the Undergraduate home pages here for more information on applying to our department.
I am the Chair of the Housing Studies Association, the UK's learned society for housing academics. www.housing-studies-association.org and I am the joint book reviews editor for the journal 'Housing Studies' www.tandfonline.com/loi/chos20 I also maintain (and occasionally update!) a blog on various housing and planning issues.