Jonathan Dolley

Jonathan Dolley is a Research Fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) within the University of Sussex Business School. His work focuses on sustainable urbanisation in rapidly developing countries, examining peri-urban food systems and urban development policies with emphasis on empowering marginalised communities.

His research spans transdisciplinary projects including the ESPA-funded Risks and Responses to Urban Futures (2015-2016) analyzing peri-urban ecosystem services in India, the STEPS Centre Urban Theme (2016-2017) investigating democratization of urban environmental agendas, and current SSRP projects integrating computational methods with transdisciplinary research on urban-rural food systems in India and China. His DPhil thesis examined Wuhan's peri-urban vegetable system governance, revealing exclusionary resilience patterns undermining social justice and environmental integrity.

Dolley's publication record demonstrates consistent focus on SDG interactions, peri-urban ecosystem services, and transformative innovation. His recent work (2020-2025) increasingly incorporates computational methods while maintaining strong emphasis on poverty-alleviation linkages and inclusive urban planning. Key recurring themes include trade-off analysis between development goals, transdisciplinary methodology development, and policy frameworks for recognizing peri-urban ecosystem services.

His academic background includes a DPhil in Science and Technology Policy (2017), MSc in Science and Technology for Sustainability with Distinction, and BSc in Natural Science (Environmental Science major), all from the University of Sussex.