James Evans

James Evans is a Professor of Human Geography and current Head of Department at the University of Manchester, School of Environment, Education and Development. His research focuses on how cities learn to become smarter and more sustainable, with expertise spanning urban governance, living laboratories, and environmental innovation.

His research interests center around smart cities and urban sustainability, with a long-standing focus on the relationship between environmental science and urban thought. He has made significant contributions to understanding how organizing concepts like resilience and systems thinking structure contemporary approaches to cities. His work on Urban Living Labs has been foundational across the social sciences, exploring how living laboratories and experiments function as new governance modes for sustainable urban development.

His recent publications reveal a clear trend toward addressing global sustainability challenges through urban innovation, with emphasis on environmental governance in both Global North and Global South contexts. His research spans from theoretical frameworks of adaptive governance to practical applications in air quality monitoring, waste management, and health-place relationships.

• Fellow of the Volkswagen Foundation
• Fellow of the Institute for British Geographers
• Fellow of the Association of American Geographers

Professor Evans has supervised numerous PhD students working on topics related to urban governance, sustainability, and smart cities. He holds investigator duties on more than £35m of funded research, including Triangulum, a £25m Horizon 2020 project to establish smart districts across Europe. He has received funding from the EU, EPSRC, ESRC, NERC, and various philanthropic foundations.

He has established and directs the University Living Lab and the Manchester Cycling Lab, innovative research platforms that bridge academic research with practical urban interventions. These labs work with more than 100 external organizations to translate research into sustainable urban development practices.