Mark Birkin

Professor Mark Birkin is a Professor of Spatial Analysis and Policy at the School of Geography, University of Leeds. He is also the Director of the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) and co-editor of the Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy journal. His work focuses on simulating social and demographic changes in urban and regional contexts and assessing their impacts on infrastructure and public services.

His research spans the application of microsimulation, agent-based modeling, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to analyze urban dynamics. He has served on editorial boards of journals like GeoInformatics and GeoStatistics, and participated in program committees for European Social Simulation Association and GeoComputation.

• PhD, School of Geography, University of Leeds (1986)
• BA (Hons), School of Geography, University of Leeds (1981)

Research interests include modeling societies and their behavior, developing Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for human and environmental analysis, and leveraging information and communication technologies in public, industrial, and commercial sectors. His work often integrates microsimulation and agent-based modeling to address complex urban and regional problems, such as housing market dynamics, retail location analysis, and healthcare planning.

Recent publications highlight his leadership in urban simulation and e-Research infrastructure, with a focus on projects like Moses (Modeling, Simulation for e-Social Science) and Hydra (Grid-based decision support systems). His work has been presented at international conferences including Association of American Geographers, European Social Simulation Association, and World Regional Science Association.

Research projects led or co-led include Moses, SECSE, and GENeSIS, funded by organizations like ESRC, EPSRC, and JISC. He has secured over £4 million in research funding, with projects such as the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Survey Research Support Unit (2012–2017) and Hydra II (2003–2004).

Labs and teams include the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) and the Institute for Spatial Data Science. He collaborates with institutions like the University of Manchester and University of California, San Diego through visiting fellowships.