About
Professor Ryan Powell is a faculty member at the School of Geography and Planning, University of Sheffield. He serves as Director of the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP) and contributes to the University’s Research Culture Steering Group. Dr. Powell previously worked at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University for 14 years before joining Sheffield in 2016.
His academic journey includes a BA in Economics and Public Policy from Leeds Metropolitan University (2002) and an MA in Human Geography from the University of Leeds (2006), pursued part-time.
- Key Research Themes: Urban marginality, Roma and Gypsy-Traveller studies, housing inequalities, class-place dynamics, territorial stigmatization, and critical policy analysis.
- Recent Projects: MIMY (2020-2023, EU Horizon2020) and MIGREC (2020-2023, EU Horizon2020) focusing on migrant youth integration.
His publications span interdisciplinary journals like International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and Housing Studies, emphasizing power relations, racialization, and urban governance. He sits on the Editorial Board of Housing Studies and is a Fellow of the Norbert Elias Foundation.
PhD Supervision includes Camille Rantz Mc Donald (Gypsies/Travellers planning harms), Charly Morris (Migrant women urban activisms), Francesca Guarino (Palermo racialized borders), and ESRC-funded team member Isla MacRae (Refugee spatial negotiations). He mentors ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow Yu-Tung Wu (Taiwan housing transformations).
Dr. Powell collaborates with Leeds GATE (Gypsy and Traveller Exchange) and FURD (Football Unites Racism Divides) in applied research on migrant inclusion and planning harms.
