Professor Richard Knowles

Professor of Transport Geography.

• Peel Building Room 309
• T: +44 (0)161 295 4994
• E: r.d.knowles@salford.ac.uk
• SEEK: Research profile

Mondays 11.00am – 5.00pm

I was educated at Abbeydale Boys Grammar School, Sheffield and then at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Geography Department where I studied first for a BA (Honours) Degree in Geography and then undertook research in Transport Geography in Norway for my PhD.

I became a Lecturer, University of Birmingham and then Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor, University of Salford. My research in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Canada has been focused throughout on spatial impacts of transport infrastructure investment (especially light rail, bridges and tunnels), on transport policy changes (especially bus  deregulation and rail privatization) and on differential collapses in time-space. The international significance of my research has been recognized in the 2004 Edward Ullman Award for significant contributions to Transportation Geography by the Association of American Geographers in 2004 and the 2010 Alan Hay Award for contributions to Transport Geography by the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).

I am Founding Editor of the Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, Oxford (Editor 1993-2012) ranked by Thomson Reuters with the second highest Impact Factor of all transport research journals.

I am also Co-Editor of the Transport and Mobility Book Series, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, Surrey since 2000.

I have been the President and elected Chair of the International Geographical Union’s Research Commission on Transport and Geography since 2009.

I have developed innovative courses and fieldwork at Salford and have taught in my the area of expertise on aspects of Human Geography including, Transport Geography, Scandinavian Cities with Fieldwork, Urban and Political Geography and MSc Transport Planning whilst also supervising PhD, MSc and undergraduate research.

Since October 2012 I am focusing on Scandinavian Cities and sustainable development. I also surpervise Geography Dissertations and PhD research.

My current research focuses on research into spatial implications of Peak Oil, alternative fuels and dearer personal mobility and into workplace travel plans and sustainable development

My research has concentrated throughout on two themes:

1. examining the effects of transport policy changes – deregulation, privatisation and franchising – on modal switch, patronage, market domination and subsidies in different geographical contexts.

2. analysing the transport and spatial development impacts of new transport infrastructure and technology: a) in urban rail transit, b) in fixed link tunnels and bridges and c) in the differential collapse in time/space and cost/space at global, regional and local scales.

My innovative research findings include: evaluating the impacts of national borders on interaction ignored by conventional transport demand models; proving that light rail systems can secure substantial modal switch from cars and help create more sustainable urban development ; challenging theories used to justify deregulation; demonstrating that privatised railways can grow passenger traffic even during economic recession.

BA Honours Geography Degree 2(1) University of Newcastle upon Tyne 1968.

PhD in Geography, University of Newcastle upon Tyne 1977.

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

selected publications since 2008:

Knowles RD (2013) Railway franchising in Great Britain and the effects of the 2008-2009 economic recession, Environment and Planning A, 45(1), 197-216

Knowles RD (2012) Transit Oriented Development in Copenhagen, Denmark: from the Finger Plan to Ørestad, Journal of Transport Geography, 22(1) 251-261

Matthiessen CW and Knowles RD (2011) Scandinavian Links: Mega Bridges Linking the Scandinavian Peninsula to the European Continent, Chapter 42 pp 735-746 in Brunn S (ed) Engineering Earth: The Impacts of Megaengineering Projects, Springer, Dordrecht

Docherty I, Shaw J, Knowles RD and Mackinnon D (2009) Connecting for competitiveness: the future of transport in the UK regions, Public Money and Management, 29(5), 321-328

Knowles RD and Matthiessen CW (2009) Barrier effects of International Borders on Fixed Link Traffic Generation: the case of Øresundsbron, Journal of Transport Geography, 17(3), 155-165

Knowles RD, Shaw J and Docherty I (Eds) (2008) Transport Geographies: Mobilities, Flows and Spaces, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford