Steve Chambers

Research subject

Thesis title: Landscape of community leadership in London

Primary supervisor: Ben Clifford
Secondary supervisor: Nikos Karadimitriou
Starting date: September 2014

Community governance in London is a complex and conflicted space with a diverse range of actors and structures. In 2008 a new type of governance was introduced –the parish council– and as of 2015 only one has been formed, with several attempts at establishing them. The project will ask if this is a useful addition to the governance arrangements of Greater London or an unnecessary addition to an already crowded space.

Biography

Steve’s research interests are focussed on urban local governance in England, from the strategic to the hyper-local, primarily looking at planning.

He has an MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies (London School of Economics), a BSc in Social Policy (London South Bank University), and a PGCE in Post-compulsory Education (Institute of Education, University of London). He produced a first class dissertation comparing strategic local government structures in London and Manchester, focussing on transport policy; and a meritorious dissertation analysing the planning arrangements in London boroughs and development corporation areas. He received the Course Directors Prize for Outstanding Achievement at South Bank and the Desmond G. Wiltshaw Scholarship (£5,000) at LSE.

He is an urban planner, working to help people understand the planning system and make their voices heard. At the Campaign for Better Transport he supports Londoners campaigning for improved public transport and against unsustainable road building. He advises a community in London’s West End on planning policy and supports the delivery of a neighbourhood plan. Prior to his academic career, he worked for seven years in marketing and communications, in the private sector, voluntary sector and for local government. More recently he trained as a teacher and taught sociology. He is based in London, United Kingdom.