Michelle Wishardt

Michelle Wishardt is a Lecturer in the Geography and Planning group within the School of Built Environment, Engineering and Computing at Leeds Beckett University. She teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes including BA (Hons) Geography, Human Geography, and MA Town and Regional Planning, and serves as module leader for Global Geographies. She also coordinates the International Exchange and Erasmus programme for her academic unit.

Her educational and professional background includes prior experience as a Parliamentary Researcher in the House of Commons, Westminster, which she integrates into her academic practice alongside international voluntary work.

Michelle's research focuses on economic and political geography, with strong emphasis on regional governance, migration, European spatial planning, and sustainability. She has developed specialized expertise in EU territorial instruments, social inclusion, transport, and green infrastructure, with regional focus on Central and Eastern Europe (particularly Poland), North Yorkshire, Ireland, and the Middle East. Her work often intersects with policy development and environmental equity.

She has led and managed significant externally funded research projects, most notably under the EU-TEMPUS programme, contributing to higher education modernisation in Syria and Egypt. These initiatives involved establishing research and training centers at universities in Damascus, Aleppo, Tishreen, and across six Egyptian institutions in collaboration with EU partners. Her current research interests examine governance processes and environmental outcomes, particularly in relation to equitable access to sustainable places and green infrastructure.

Michelle has co-authored the influential book Global Social Policy, International Organisations and the Future of Welfare (with Bob Deacon), published by Sage in 1997, 2002, and 2013. She also led a featured research project that enhanced the capacity of neighbourhood groups in England to influence statutory planning policy and improve local wellbeing.

Research Projects:

• Building the capacity of neighbourhood groups to change statutory planning policy
• EU-TEMPUS project on environment, construction, and reconstruction in Syrian universities (Damascus, Aleppo, Tishreen)
• EU-TEMPUS project across six universities in Egypt in collaboration with University of Cairo and EU consortium

She has represented Leeds Beckett University as a partner in international consortia and continues to advance research on equitable and sustainable spatial development.